Robbers hit posh Makati village; 3 arrested

Police have arrested three men who broke into a house, hogtied its occupants and robbed them of thousands of pesos in cash and valuables in Makati City last Sunday.

Arrested were Christopher Muyot, 35, the victim’s fomer driver; Edurado Montierde, 60; Ricardo Ramos, 48, a barker; and Nida Lacsao, the victim’s maid.

Also arrested was the victim’s maid, who was suspected of complicity in the robbery.

According to the Makati police, the suspects broke into the Bel-Air home of Aurora Villasor, 66, a businesswoman around 2 a.m.

The suspects, wearing bonnets and gloves, apparently managed to enter the house through a rear window on the second floor without alerting the two women, who were later gagged, blindfolded and hogtied.

The victims told police that they lost P40,000 in cash, cellular phones, a wristwatch, a ring and a gray Chevrolet Venture wagon.

The vehicle, which the suspects used in their get-away, was later found abandoned three hours later along Valdez Street in Barangay Poblacion.

Makati police chief Gilbert Cruz said the suspects were arrested in separate follow-up operations by a team formed by SPO4 Danny Diaz, chief of the follow-up section.

The victim told investigators she heard one of the suspects talk and was able to recognize him as her former driver.

"We immediately sent a team to the known addresses of the suspects and all three were arrested. They said the maid was an accomplice and that they divided the loot into four," Diaz told The STAR in an interview.

He said robbery and carjacking charges will be filed against the group and the victims’ maid.

Barangay Bel-Air is an upper-crust community where residents enjoy 24-hour security, yet criminal syndicates still manage to infiltrate it occasionally.

Last April, a notorious car thief known as the Pajero Lady was arrested in the neighborhood after she broke into the house of a Chinese businessman along Mars Street.

Lourdes de Guzman, 52, was caught robbing jewelry from Jose Ching and his family after they decided to return home after canceling a trip to China due to flight problems at the airport.

The Pajero Lady, who earned her moniker for using Pajeros during her heists, was caught with a brand new Toyota Innova.