Elderly woman killed in Pasig fire; 3 hurt

A 65-year-old woman died while three others were hurt when a fire broke out at Patco Compound in Pasig City shortly before midnight Sunday.

Nerma Parcon suffocated after she failed to get out of her house while her neighbors—Lauren Oliva, Celestino Sagon and Valentino Babur—managed to escape but suffered cuts, burns and fractures.

FO3 Chester Pangilinan of the Bureau of Fire Protection Pasig said the blaze of a still undetermined cause started at the second floor of a building where construction workers were staying. It quickly spread to nearby houses made of light materials.

At least 15 families were left homeless by the fire that destroyed around P500,000 worth of property. Jovic Yee

Cops catch 4 robbers with motorist’s help

WITH the help of a concerned citizen, four suspects who had robbed a grocery owner of P500,000 Monday morning in Taytay town, Rizal province, were arrested.

Amando de los Reyes, Inocencio Casador, Johnny Sabal and Rudolf Carnote were captured by authorities at

9:50 a.m. on Ortigas Avenue Extension in Cainta town. Taytay police chief Supt. Samuel Delorino said that one of the four men had fired a warning shot when the grocery store owner tried to resist, alerting a policeman in the area.

The suspects escaped on two motorcycles with the victim’s money but they also caught the attention of a motorist who tailed them and reported their whereabouts to the police.

This was after the robbery suspects transferred to a van. Recovered from them were the money they stole, two .45-cal. pistols, a carbine and a hand grenade.  Jovic Yee

Car rental shop owner nabbed for vehicle theft

A BUSINESSMAN wanted for allegedly stealing cars and pawning them to casino financiers has been arrested in Caloocan City after months of hiding.

Catherson “Katkat” Culi, owner of Silver Crest, a  rent-a-car company in Pasay City that closed down years ago, was nabbed on Feb. 17 based on an arrest warrant issued by Judge Noemi Balitaan of the Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 258.

Caloocan police chief Senior Supt. Bartolome Bustamante said the Bacoor, Cavite-based businessman was a gambling addict and resorted to the scheme to finance his vice.

He added that the businessman had rented cars from private individuals for his own company which closed down in 2014.

“He’s addicted to gambling and pawned these vehicles to financiers in exchange for money,” Bustamante said in an interview.

The suspect, however, denied that he pawned all the cars he had rented for his company, saying that only five ended up with casino financiers.

One of his  victims, Hermie Villavicencio, said Culi rented her brand new van for P40,000 a month, adding that she agreed because she wanted to earn extra money to cover her monthly car payments. Villavicencio later filed a complaint against the suspect after he failed to return her van.  Aie Balagtas See