Cop, 3 others tagged in carjacking operations

A police officer and three enlisted personnel were tagged by an arrested policeman as among those involved in a series of carjacking operations in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, police said yesterday.

Superintendent James Brillantes, intelligence chief of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), said the names of the police officer assigned at the Traffic Management Group (TMG) and three others were revealed during tactical interrogation of PO2 Arnold Adto, who was arrested last Wednesday for his role in numerous carjacking operations in the city.

However, Brillantes refused to reveal the identities of the four linked by Adto in his illegal activities so as not to jeopardize ongoing follow-up operations to pin them down.

"We are at present gathering additional evidence to arrest the four men for carjacking," said Brillantes.

Earlier, Adto admitted belonging to the Doce Pares gang, composed of active and dismissed policemen, behind the rash of robbery and carjacking operations in Metro Manila and in the provinces of Regions 3 and 4.

According to Brillantes, some of Adto’s batchmates are being "shadowed" by his men for aiding the Doce Pares gang in their illegal activities.

Intelligence agents of the Quezon City police are also decoding messages on Adto’s cell phone to find out contact persons and other members of the carjacking syndicate.

"His cell phone contains coded messages which my men are now trying to decipher to help us unmask their illegal activities," said Brillantes.

Adto was arrested last Wednesday on board a Five Star bus at the Bocaue exit of the North Expressway. He was on his way to his hometown in Capas, Tarlac.

Adto was positively identified by Necita Orijuela and her driver, Oliver Engco, as one of the suspects in the carjacking of her black Toyota Fortuner last March 25 at the corner of Del Monte and Matutum streets.

Brillantes said Adto and his two companions were also tagged in the shooting and wounding of driver, Rogelio Bayaw, 33, during a P300,000 robbery operation on Mindanao Avenue last Mar. 29.

Adto and his group took Bayaw’s Toyota HiLux (RAP 114) but abandoned it in Barangay Talipapa during a brief chase by responding elements of the QCPD mobile division.

At the time of his arrest Adto, yielded a customized 9mm pistol, which was positively identified by Orijuela and Engco as the same firearm he used during the carjacking operation.

According to Brillantes, the bail bond of Adto was raised to more than P600,000 after additional charges of acts of lasciviousness and robbery was filed against him before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office.

He said Chief Inspector Ipil Duenas, of the QCPD anti-carnapping unit, accompanied Orijuela in Rodriguez town last Sunday and positively identified the two slain carjackers as the companions of Adto when they grabbed her Fortuner.

The two slain carjackers were painting a taxi when cornered by elements of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the local police.

Instead of surrendering, the duo engaged the SWAT team in a shootout and were killed in the process. The local police arrested their two companions, identified as Jane Rono and James Vinluan.

"The carjacking victim positively identified the slain carjackers as the companions of Adto when they grabbed her Fortuner," Brillantes told The Star.

Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas Jr., intelligence chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said they have started summary dismissal proceedings against Adto.

"We are now in the pre-charge investigation where he would be given a chance to air his side on all accusations hurled against him," said Rojas, claiming the result of their investigation would be out this week.

Adto was formerly assigned at the District Special Action Unit (DSAU) of the Eastern Police District (EPD), where he got acquainted with Doce Pares gang leader PO2 Joel Tapec, also a native of Capas, Tarlac.