NCRPO nabs one of RP's top bank robbers

MANILA, Philippines - A man listed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as one of country’s 20 most wanted bank robbers was arrested by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) as he got off a plane at the domestic airport, officials said yesterday.

NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales said Edwin Ayop, 35, has six standing arrest warrants for robbery and was sentenced by Las Piñas Regional Trial Court Branch 201 Judge Lorna Navarro-Domingo last March 31 to 12 to 15 years’ imprisonment.

The PNP directorate for intelligence released two weeks ago an updated list of top 20 bank robbers in the country and Ayop, a member of the Ampang-Colangco robbery group, was one of them.

When an informant told him of Ayop’s plan to return to Manila for another “hit” job, Rosales directed Senior Superintendent Billy Beltran, NCRPO intelligence chief, to have him arrested while stepping out of the plane.

“My men were armed with his picture. So when confronted, he identified himself as Abel Pepito and he was immediately handcuffed and arrested and brought here,” Rosales said during a press briefing at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

Ayop was in the passenger’s tube when he was arrested and handcuffed by a police team headed by Senior Inspector Joselito Savales of the NCRPO’s intelligence division.

“He stood still while I’m announcing his arrest. He did not say a word until he was subjected to a tactical interrogation,” Savales told The STAR.

Beltran said Ayop participated in at least six robberies staged by the Ampang-Colangco group in Metro Manila the past several years.

Ayop told The STAR he drove the group’s getaway vehicle, and earned P40,000 to P60,000 per “hit,” depending on the amount of the loot.

Ayop said he works as a tricycle driver in Tagum City to support his family. However, he did not report for work the past two weeks after the PNP released their updated list of wanted bank robbers.

He said a certain Nicky, a female member of the Ampang-Colangco robbery group, “invited” him to drive one of the getaway vehicles for another robbery planned in Metro Manila. He said Nicky purchased a plane ticket for P2,800 for him to fly from Davao to Manila.

Beltran said they are now coordinating with Director Eugene Martin, head of the PNPs directorate for intelligence, to determine whether there is a reward for Ayop’s capture.

Meanwhile, Dennis Rodriguez, executive vice president of Banco de Oro’s Las Piñas City branch, commended Rosales and his men for the arrest of Ayop, who will be turned over to Domingo anytime today.