Malabon cop chief beaten up, robbed

Malabon police chief Superintendent Ernesto Fojas Jr. lost his .45 caliber pistol, necklace and wristwatch to 12 unidentified men who ganged up on him in Tondo, Manila before dawn yesterday.

Fojas also suffered bruises in the body when the suspects stoned and hit him with a plastic chair at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday in front of the billiard hall owned by his sister. The establishment is located at the corner of Hermosa and Limay streets, Tondo, Manila.

Investigator PO3 Gordius Alundo said Allan Padilla and Philip Ceron, both helpers at the billiard hall, were also hurt in the incident.

Follow-up operations by members of the Western Police District (WPD) resulted in the arrest of three of the suspects.

They were Rene Loreto, 50, supervisor of Giordano Philippines; 24, Michael Lopez, 24, and Rolando Banting, 31, jobless. All the suspects are residents of Morong street, Tondo, Manila.

The police have launched a manhunt for the other suspects, who were identified as Leon Barrientos, his brother Jun and Terio Yu. The other suspects remained unidentified as of press time.

Investigation showed that Fojas went to his sister’s billiard hall to inform her of the death of an uncle. Upon arriving there, he saw the suspects pelting stones at the establishment.

This prompted Fojas to introduce himself as a policeman and pull out his service firearm. But instead of yielding to him, Fojas said the suspects turned their ire on him.

One of the suspects, Leon Barrientos, allegedly tried to grab Fojas’s necklace with pendant, worth P80,000, but the police official resisted. Another suspect Jun Barrientos punched him in the face.

Leon Barrientos allegedly used plastic chairs to hit Fojas. They succeeded in getting the victim’s firearm and personal effects in the process. – Cecille Suerte Felipe