DAVAO CITY, Philippines – As what Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had promised, justice came fast for the taxi driver who was robbed and killed here last week.
On August 10, taxi driver Rommel Pareño was killed after being robbed by two armed men. On August 13, after receiving reports about a strong lead on the suspects, a furious Duterte said justice would be served before dawn of August 15.
“We owe it to the family of people like Pareño who was honestly earning a living for his family to ensure that justice is done,” Duterte said.
A few hours after the mayor’s statement, one of the suspects was killed by policemen after trying to pull off another robbery.
The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) said that Rey Anthony Caroro was shot while fighting it off with responding policemen after taking away the day’s earning of another taxi driver in the Matina area here.
Caroro and his cohort robbed cab driver Leoneto Galan on Thursday along Tulip Drive in Juna Subdivision.
Galan immediately reported the robbery to a unit of patrolling policemen who immediately pursued the suspect.
The DCPO said Caroro died from gunshot wounds after trading gunfire with the police while his companion was able to escape.
Authorities recovered from Caroro a .357 caliber revolver with three live ammunition, a spent shell, a folded knife and four sachets of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride).
Local police are also looking for the suspects in the killing of 25-year-old mixed martial arts fighter Ale Cali here last Sunday.
Known as one of the safest cities in the world, the local government of Davao said that crimes could not be totally prevented but could be addressed by rapid response from law enforcement units. (Karlos Manlupig, Inquirer Mindanao)