The slain suspects were identified as Brian Anthony Dulay, 28, of Kamuning; Francis Xavier Manzano, 26, of La Vista Subdivision, both in Quezon City; and a certain Anton Co, of unknown address.
All three sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died on the spot.
One policeman was also wounded in the shootout.
The wounded police official was identified as Senior Inspector Samuel Belmonte of TMG’s Task Force Limbas based at Camp Crame in Quezon City. He is currently being treated at the Medical Center in Pasig City.
TMG officer-in-charge Chief Superintendent Augusto Angcanan said two teams from Task Force Limbas were conducting covert operations at the Ortigas Center following a tip that a maroon Nissan Sentra Exalta with license plates XDD-828 was about to be used in a carjacking.
The first group, led by Senior Inspector Henry Cerdon, spotted the Exalta on Garnet street at about 11 p.m. and immediately informed Belmonte’s group.
Belmonte’s team flagged down the vehicle, but the driver refused to yield, prompting the lawmen to give chase.
When the suspects were about to be cornered, one of them opened fire, hitting Belmonte in the right leg. The ensuing gunbattle left all three suspects dead.
"We had to use reasonable force to repel the aggressors. They fired at our policemen first," Angcanan said.
Found inside the suspects’ vehicle were a caliber 9-mm. Jericho pistol and an Ingram machine pistol, a vehicle license plate XET-355 and a sachet of shabu.
Relatives of Dulay and Manzano claimed the bodies yesterday at the Quiogue funeral parlor in Pasig City.
They stayed at the holding center of the funeral parlor and refused requests for interviews.
An employee of the funeral parlor said a man claiming to be a relative of the third suspect called up three times asking that the body be cremated immediately. The funeral parlor refused to carry out the request.
Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao and Angcanan rushed to the crime scene and later headed to the Medical City, where they awarded Belmonte with the "Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting."
"One thing is certain. We were able to neutralize three suspected carnappers with one officer wounded," Reyes said.
The DILG chief slammed insinuations that the incident was a "rubout."
"To those saying the incident was a rubout, I think it’s hard to convince any police officer to shoot himself in the leg just to make it appear as a legitimate operation. It defies imagination and logic. We would never do that.," Reyes said.
Task Force Limbas chief Senior Superintendent Napoleon Pascua said the suspects were among those being monitored by the anti-car theft unit.
Earlier, intelligence operatives of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said they were hot on the trail of a car theft gang reportedly made up of scions of prominent families.
The "Balikbayan Juvenile Gang" steal or forcibly take late-model cars at commercial centers in Quezon City and Pasig City. The suspects carry out their activities after midnight while under the influence of liquor or drugs.
"Some of them steal cars for the thrill of it," one intelligence agent said. "Others resort to robbery and car theft when they run out of cash for their vices."
Gang members, said to also be involved in illegal street racing, often sell the vehicles they steal for P25,000 to P50,000.
The TMG and QCPD has stepped up their anti-car theft campaign following a carjacking spree inSeptember and October, during which an average of 2.5 vehicles were stolen daily in Metro Manila. — With Perseus Echeminada