Caloocan cop killed in shootout

A member of the Caloocan City police motorcycle unit was killed in a shootout with two suspected members of a notorious robbery and holdup group while on patrol along C-4 Road in Dagat-Dagatan last Monday.

Police Officer 2 Restituto Soria sustained three gunshot wounds in the body from a caliber .45 automatic pistol and died while being treated at the Tondo General Hospital.

One bullet hit his thigh, another grazed his chest and another hit the right vein of his abdomen, according to Scene of the Crime Operations medico-legal officer Chief Inspector Filemon Porciuncula.

One of the suspects, identified as Venus Ybot, 29, of 46 Miguel street, North Bay Boulevard North (NBBN), Navotas, who was also wounded in the gunbattle, was arrested in a follow-up operation by Northern Police Disrtrict (NPD) intelligence unit operatives.

Ferdinand Salonga, the alleged leader of the Salonga robbery gang is now the subject of a massive manhunt by the police. He is listed as the most wanted criminal by the Calumpit, Bulacan police.

NPD director Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco Jr. said Salonga has six standing warrants of arrest for robbery and illegal possession of firearms cases at the Bulacan courts.

Caloocan City Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo offered yesterday a P100,000 reward for any information that may lead to the immediate arrest of Salonga.

"We condemn in the strongest term the killing of our policeman," Malonzo said in a telephone interview.

Superintendent Sotero Ramos Jr. NPD-District Police Intelligence Unit (DPIU) chief, said that at around 3:45 p.m. Soria and Police Officer 2 Melchor Gregorio, riding on separate motorcycles, were conducting a routine patrol along C-4 Road and the Dagat-Dagatan side of Caloocan City when they sighted two suspicious-looking men riding in tandem on a motorcycle.

"It was obvious that they had something tucked in their belts," Gregorio told The STAR.

The policemen flagged down the suspects, but they ignored the cops and instead sped off toward Lapu-Lapu Avenue. In the course of the pursuit, the suspects fired at the officers.

In the ensuing shootout, Soria was killed while Ybot sustained a bullet wound in the body.

Salonga escaped by commandeering a passing tricycle.

A police search at a nearby hospital resulted in Ybot’s arrest. Superintendent Dionicio Borromeo, Caloocan City police intelligence chief, said Ybot tested positive for gunpowder burns following a paraffin test.

At the DPIU office, Gregorio and another witness who was shown police photographs, positively identified Salonga as one of the two men who fired at Soria.

Police recovered from the scene four empty shells of a caliber .45 automatic and six empty shells of a 9mm pistol.

In another development, the Metro police chief Director Ricardo de Leon inducted the slain officer to the "Kuya Ko 2 Honor Roll."

"The courage shown by PO2 Soria should be emulated by all members of the National Capital Region Police Office. It takes true bravery to sacrifice one’s own life in the call of duty. It is only fitting that PO2 Soria takes the first spot in our Honor Roll," he said. — With Non Alquitran