MetroBriefs

MMDA personnel seize buses’ license plates

Personnel of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) seized on Monday the license plates of 14 buses owned by Jell Transport Inc. to prevent their drivers from plying their routes. Earlier, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) cancelled the franchises of the company’s 127 buses for joining last year’s transport strike in Metro Manila, which left hundreds of commuters stranded. The company was supposed to surrender the license plates of their buses following the LTFRB order but it failed to do so, prompting the MMDA to go to its garage in Camarin, Caloocan, to enforce the order. The license plates have been turned over to LTFRB, according to MMDA Assistant General Manager Emerson Carlos.—Penelope P. Endozo

2 nabbed for trying to rob jeepney passengers

The police arrested on Monday night two men allegedly responsible for a spate of robbery-holdups in passenger jeepneys in Navotas City. Police identified the two as John del Candelario and Rudy Abihay. Their alleged cohort, Dennis Briones, managed to escape. According to Police Officer 1 Ibrahim Guiama, Del Candelario and Abihay were arrested by barangay (village) officials on Gov. Pascual Avenue at around 11 p.m. after one of their victims shouted for help. In her statement to police, Justine Salonga said that she was in a jeepney with other people when the three robbers declared a heist. Salonga added that when she shouted for help, the three men panicked and got off the jeepney. “But the barangay officials managed to chase after them except for Briones,” Guiama said. He said that criminal charges would be filed against the three while a manhunt operation for Briones was being conducted.—Kristine Felisse Mangunay

Billiard hall owner loses jewelry to robbers

Eight armed motorcycle-riding men raided on Monday night a billiard hall in Tondo, Manila, divesting its owner of P170,000 worth of jewelry and wounding three persons, including two teenagers, when they indiscriminately fired their pistols at innocent bystanders to pave their way for their escape. The men, all wearing ski masks, fled on motorcycles and shot people near the billiard hall to discourage any form of pursuit. Wounded in the robbery were Rosalyn Mayrina, 14, who was shot in the right arm; Christian Villanueva, 14, who sustained a gunshot wound in the left shoulder; and Marvin Aragon, 20,  who was hit by a bullet in the back. All were taken to Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Hospital for treatment. The owner of the billiard hall at the corner of Wagas and Lakandula streets in Tondo, Manila, 70-year-old Lamberto Estacio, lost a gold necklace worth P150,000 and a gold ring worth P20,000 to the robbers but was unhurt. Senior Police Officer 4 Crispin Sarmiento, head of the Manila Police District Moriones, Tondo Station 2 investigation division, said that the robbery happened at around 9 p.m. on Monday at the billiard hall. Sarmiento told the Inquirer that Estacio was manning the billiard hall when the eight men, riding tandem on four motorcycles, arrived. At gunpoint, they robbed him before boarding their motorcycles while firing at the people around them.—Jeannette I. Andrade