Suspected robbery gang member killed

A military man suspected to be a member of a robbery group was killed while his companion was arrested following an encounter with policemen yesterday morning in Quezon City.

Technical Sergeant Ferdinand Singun of the Philippine Army was killed after he shot it out with operatives of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group led by Senior Superintendent Eduardo Ladao and other police units after the suspects sought refuge and hid in the houses in a slum community in Barangay Batasan Hills.

Singun was named through his Army identification card, according to Senior Superintendent Federico Laciste Jr., deputy director for operations of the Quezon City Police District. Laciste also said policemen recovered a military uniform and a .45 caliber pistol from Singun. Laciste identified the arrested suspect as Joel Malavega, who he said had admitted to the police that their group was monitoring an establishment in Cainta, Rizal that they were targeting prior to the encounter. The two other companions of Singun and Malavega had reportedly escaped at the height of the gunbattle and are now the subject of follow-up operations.

A member of the Cainta, Rizal police — Police Officer 2 Jerry Romero — was injured and sustained a gunshot wound on his left arm. He was brought to the Malvar General Hospital and is already in stable condition, according to Laciste.

Laciste said that prior to the shootout that happened at around 9:20 a.m., CIDG operatives were doing a surveillance on a black Toyota Innova (ZFL-288) in Cainta, Rizal near Sta. Lucia Mall. The license plate attached to the Innova was registered to a Chevrolet vehicle.

The policemen from the CIDG tailed the suspects’ vehicle and called for backup from the Cainta police and the QCPD until they reached San Mateo Road in Barangay Batasan Hills. “At that point, the suspects got off their vehicle, scampered and entered the houses in a slum community there,” Laciste told The STAR in an interview.

The policemen chased the suspects and asked around among the residents, who tipped them off where the suspects were hiding.

When policemen found Singun, the suspect opened fire, prompting policemen to retaliate. Malavega, who was reportedly unarmed, on the other hand, surrendered when he was cornered by the policemen. Laciste said no one among the residents was injured in the gunbattle.

According to Laciste, they were still conducting follow-up operations, including a house-to-house search in the slum community to find clues on the whereabouts of the two other suspects and also to determine if any of the residents were their cohorts.