Four killed, two arrested in attempted bank robbery in Makati City

By Ronron
June 12, 2007

Four suspected robbers were killed while two others were wounded in a shootout with police as they attempt to rob a bank in Makati City yesterday morning, police said.

One of the slain robbers, suspected to belong to the so-called Salazar gang, was identified as Rodolfo Amistoso, the driver of their vehicle, while the two arrested were identified as Robert Luares, 36, native of Camarines Sur, and Luis Cervantes, 44, a former member of the Philippine Constabulary and a resident of Taguig City.

The suspects were aboard a black Mazda 626 car (plate number TPL-213) and motorcycle (plate number EJ7864) when they were allegedly attempting to rob the Metrobank branch on Evangelista Street, Bangkal, Makati City.

Police said they received prior information about the attempted robbery from an informant so they deployed elements of the Regional Police Intelligence Operation Unit of the Regional Intelligence Division (RPIOU-RID), and the Southern Police District (SPD) at the site.

At around 10 am, the operatives noticed the suspects’ vehicles. Upon the instruction of their leader, one of the operatives approached the car to check on it but was met with a volley of gunfire from the suspects, police said.

“(This) forced the rest of the RPIOU-RID operatives to protect their besieged comrade and returned fire. The suspects kept on firing on the police operatives while attempting to speed off towards the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX),” a police statement said.

Three of the suspects, including Amistoso, died on the spot, while one was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

The two arrested suspects, meanwhile, are undergoing tactical interrogation.

Recovered from the suspects were one caliber 45 pistol, one caliber 357 pistol, one caliber 38 revolver, and two fragmentation grenades.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla noted that Amistoso was found to be among the suspects behind the robbery of Banco de Oro in Sucat, Paranaque last June 4.

That bank robbery incident is being attributed by police to the Ampang-Colangco criminal gang, based on the identities of the suspects who took part.

Varilla commended the RPIOU-RID and the SPD “for their hard work and persistence” and exhorted “them to keep on pursuing crime groups operating in Metro Manila.

Yesterday’s incident prompted Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Calderon to call for a command conference at Camp Crame later in the afternoon among police officials in Metro Manila.

“I called for this conference because of the series of two bank robberies (recently). I called the attention of Gen. (Reynaldo) Varilla how we could really secure Metro Manila and prevent these incidents,” Calderon said in a news briefing after their conference.

Among the immediate actions that police will take, he said, is the putting up of a tracker team in each of the five police districts in Metro Manila. The team will be “dedicated to go after robbery hold-up groups,” said Calderon.

Varilla said each team will be composed of seven personnel from the Intelligence Division and one personnel from the Regional Special Action Unit (RSAU).

The RSAU, according to Varilla, is already fielding personnel aboard public buses plying Metro Manila as marshals to monitor hold-uppers and snatchers.

In the said news conference, Varilla admitted that an increase of 1.24 percent on street crime incidents in Metro Manila was observed from January to May of this year, compared to the same period last year. The incidents, he said, are mostly robberies and illegal drugs trade.

Asked for the factor of the rise in incidents, Varilla said: “Economics. After the yuletide, many people need money, as well as during this enrollment period. So many of our enterprising fellowmen resorted to cellphone snatching and robberies.”

To ensure the safety of students, Varilla said each police station had put up police assistance centers in the vicinity of learning centers, although he noted that during the first week of classes, no untoward incident was reported.

“We doubled our foot and mobile patrol… We hope will maintain this (zero incident rate) throughout the year,” he said.

Calderon said the principle of command responsibility and three-strike policy are also in effect, especially if they find out that local police officials did not do much to prevent the occurrence of crimes.

But asked if Metro Manila is still safe despite the series of robberies, Varilla told reporters: “I think so.”/DMS