Two wounded ‘robbers’ in Carcar heist?

CEBU, Philippines -The police are now looking at the background of two suspected robbers who were wounded in an encounter with an off-duty policeman the other day if they belong to an organized crime group and if they were involved in the P10-million jewelry heist in Carcar City last month.

Senior Superintendent Clifford Gairanod, Cebu Province Police Office director, said Provincial Intelligence Branch operatives are closely coordinating with the City Intelligence Branch of the Cebu City Police Office and of the Regional Intelligence Division 7 in verifying the backgrounds Nestor Benavinte and Armand dela Cerna, both residents of Barangay Cogon, Ozamis City.

The police have reasons to believe that they were involved in the robbery inside Super Metro Carcar City last April 16.

“Our PIB is now coordinating with the CIB together with R2 in identifying the suspects as they might be also the ones who committed the robbery in Carcar,” Gairanod said.

He said the police are comparing the profiles of the two men with footages captured by security cameras and of photographs taken by witnesses.

Eyewitnesses will also be asked to look at the pictures of the suspects if they could remember seeing them during the Carcar robbery.

He said culprits in the Carcar robbery wore only ball caps and did not bother covering their faces. As part of the investigation pistols, seized from Benavinte and Dela Cerna would also be subjected to subject the seized pistols to ballistic examination to see if they were the same guns used in Carcar.

Superintendent Michael Anthony Bastes, CCPO-CIB chief, said there was a big possibility that Benavinte and Dela Cerna were with the group that robbed Super Metro last month.

Bastes said they also received a report that the two men were used as goons by a politician in Cebu Province during the May 9 elections. He said, though, that this is subject for validation.

Benavinte and Dela Cerna allegedly just robbed jeepney passengers when Police Officer 3 Julius Regis, a CIB operative who was riding his motorcycle, noticed what happened.

Regis gave chase and wounded the two men when one of them allegedly tried to pull out a pistol when he shouted at them to stop.  An accomplice, who drove the getaway motorcycle, managed to escape.

Police Regional Office-7 Director Patrocinio Comendador Jr., said he will give Regis an award but added that they have to work out Regis’ possible promotion as there are parameters that must be followed. — (FREEMAN)