Calls on stolen cell phone lead to sex fiends' downfall

MANILA, Philippines - Frequent calls to a woman abroad using a stolen cellular phone led to the arrest of two men accused of robbing and molesting dentists in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, police said yesterday.

After several months of slow progress on the investigation of sexual attacks and robberies involving dentists, operatives of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) hit pay dirt when a postpaid cell phone bill of one of the victims showed at least three calls to a woman named Mary Joy Basiwang in Singapore.

Upon orders of NCRPO chief Director Alan Purisima, Chief Inspector Ferjen Torred befriended Basiwang on the social networking site Facebook. Torred told The STAR that the profile picture of Basiwang showed her with a male companion, identified on the site as Ortiz Demonyito.

Basiwang, who works as a bartender in Singapore, said the man with her is her husband. Torred showed the Basiwang profile picture to the victims and one of them identified the husband as one of those who attacked her.

Purisima ordered a stakeout at Barangay Silangan in Quezon City, the listed residence of Basiwang on Facebook. Torred and his men conducted surveillance operation on Demonyito, whom they later identified as Ronald Policarpio.

Senior Superintendent Conrado Capa, NCRPO’s intelligence chief, applied for a search warrant at the Quezon City regional trial court and Policarpio was arrested at his house during a raid last Aug. 24.

Capa said the raid yielded a backpack the principal suspect, Albert Galang de la Cruz, 31, was seen using when he was caught on footage taken by a closed-circuit television camera at the clinic of one of his victims. Police also found a sachet of shabu and a hand grenade.

During tactical interrogation, Policarpio told police that De la Cruz used to rent a room at his house, but left after learning that Purisima ordered a manhunt for him. Purisima said Policarpio was identified as a “lookout” during a robbery at a dental clinic in Deparo, Caloocan City.

The NCRPO chief said Policarpio led his men to De la Cruz’s newly rented room in Pilar Village, Las Piñas City Sunday. De la Cruz tried to resist arrest by pulling out a fan knife and a teargas canister. He also yielded a sachet believed to contain shabu.

De la Cruz owned up to 19 of the 23 robbery cases recorded by the NCRPO but vehemently denied raping or molesting his victims.

Purisima ordered De la Cruz and Policarpio subjected to a medical examination to disprove allegations that they were tortured to admit their crimes.

De la Cruz, a member of the Sigue-Sigue Sputnik gang, showed The STAR a tattoo on his right thigh, which fitted the description given by some of his victims. He also has two or three missing teeth in his upper jaw, another feature noted by the dentists.

Police filed yesterday charges of resisting arrest, illegal possession of a deadly weapon and possession of illegal drugs against De la Cruz before the Las Piñas City prosecutor’s office. All other charges against him filed in different courts in Metro Manila and the provinces would be amended to include his true name, police said.

Policarpio has been charged with illegal possession of explosives and possession of illegal drugs before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office.

Meanwhile, Capa said at least eight dentists have showed up at their office to identify De la Cruz. He said the Philippine Dental Association is still coordinating with other victims for the filing of additional cases against De la Cruz and Policarpio.

Police are urging the other victims to press charges against the two men. Only five cases have been filed before the prosecutor’s office in Quezon City against De la Cruz, according to Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.

“Some of the victims did not want to file their respective complaints, maybe because they didn’t want to be scandalized (especially with the crime committed against them),” he said. – With Reinir Padua