Promotion set for cop who shot bus robber dead

For stopping a bus robbery and killing one of the suspects even though he was off-duty, a Quezon City policeman may soon be promoted.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, on Wednesday said he had recommended the promotion of PO2 Joselito Lantano.

Two other Quezon City policemen who helped arrest two other suspects may also receive citations, he added.

“[Lantano] was off-duty at that time. It was recommended that he would be promoted one rank higher and probably two other Quezon City personnel would also be given appropriate awards,” Eleazar told reporters at a briefing in Camp Crame.

Lantano, a member of the Police Security and Protection Group in Camp Crame, was on his way home to Bulacan when the bus he was riding in was held up by three men before dawn on Tuesday.

The Diamond Star bus was bound for Malanday, Valenzuela City, when one of the suspects, Eduardo Gimenteza, declared a robbery and fired a warning shot. However, Lantano, who was in civilian clothes, shot and
killed him.

The bus then stopped near the corner of Edsa and Quezon Avenue, where two other officers in a patrol car parked nearby were alerted to the robbery.

Eleazar said the two officers helped arrest two more suspects who were on the bus.

Although they yielded a knife and a .38-caliber revolver, the two other suspects denied that they were with Gimenteza.