NCRPO chief commends Manila police team for returning P4.7 M

Metro police chief Director Ricardo de Leon commended yesterday a lady cop for arresting a robber and a team from the Manila police homicide section for returning a stolen P4.7 million to its rightful owner.

Cited were P03 Merly Guevarra of the Women and Children’s Concern Desk (WCCD) of the Pasay City police and the team led by Senior Inspector Dominador Arevalo, of the homicide section of the Manila police.

"She displayed extraordinary courage and dedication to duty when she arrested a hold-up man responsible for staging a heist inside a passenger jeepney," said De Leon of Guevarra, the first lady cop to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Guevarra was on board the vehicle plying along F.B Harrison near Vito Cruz St., in Pasay City when the knife-wielding suspect, identified as Locadio Conquill, forcibly grabbed the handbag of one Iza Abayon at about 8:10 a.m. yesterday.

Instinctively, Guevarra, pulled out her service firearm, introduced herself as a police officer and disarmed and arrested Conquillo. The stolen bag was recovered and subsequently returned to Abayon.

Meanwhile, Arevalo was investigating the robbery at the Edcen Money Changer along Makata St. in Sta. Cruz last week when they traced a part of the loot stashed in a trash can.

Arevalo led his men in returning the recovered cash to shop owner Zenaida Artuz. Two mobile policemen killed in the robbery, SPO2 Ricardo Roxas and PO2 Romeo Napolis, were also recommended by De Leon for posthumous promotions.