2 killed after abducting lending firm employees

Two persons were killed and a policeman was wounded in a shoot-out after armed men barged into a lending company in Manila and abducted several employees on Saturday.

A distress call at around 3 p.m. sent members of the Manila Police District’s Malate station and Special Weapons and Tactics team in hot pursuit of two blue vans carrying four employees of the PJH Lending Corp. and their alleged abductors.

Before the lawmen caught up with their targets, the captives—reportedly a manager and three security guards—had already been released by the suspects.

In the ensuing shoot-out at the corner of Zobel Roxas and Alfonso Streets in Makati City, two of the suspects were killed while a third managed to escape by taking over a passenger jeepney. PO3 Hansel Deneros was wounded and was rushed to Ospital ng Makati.

The slain suspects were identified as Roy Diaz, 37, a native of Lanao del Sur, and Agustin Tubo, 33, of Makati.

A fourth suspect was later arrested in Barangay Pitogo by Makati policemen. He was intercepted while still driving one of the vans used in the abduction.

Makati City police chief Supt. Jaime Santos identified the arrested suspect as Christopher Salmo, who claimed that he was merely hired for his van by the armed men who stormed the lending firm. An automatic rifle was recovered from the vehicle.

MPD deputy director for operations Senior Supt. Roberto Po said the employees of PJH Lending, a company based on Taft Avenue, earlier sent a distress call saying that armed men had forced into their way into the company’s compound.

Po said the company had been embroiled in a management dispute following the death of its owner, Peter John Holden.

When the armed men got wind that police teams were on their way to the compound, they forced a manager and three members of Optimum Security Agency guards into the vans and drove off, Po said.