2 cabbies nabbed for restaurant robbery

MANILA, Philippines - Through a taxi they allegedly used in robbing a restaurant over the weekend, two cabbies were arrested in Quezon City on Thursday afternoon.

Juancho Alba, 44, and Marlon Baloca, 39, were in the taxicab that was used during the robbery at a branch of the Red Ribbon bakeshop and restaurant when they were arrested along Litex Road, said Superintendent Eleazar Matta, commander of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 6.

Citing text messages on Alba’s cellular phone, the suspect had been told by his cohorts to just claim that he was just flagged down if ever he is accosted by policemen, Matta said in an interview.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent Richard Albano said Alba and Baloca had been tagged in the robbery at the Red Ribbon restaurant along Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay Old Balara on Saturday night, wherein P63,000 had been taken away by five men.

Baloca was allegedly one of the three armed men who staged the heist while Alba was one of the two who stayed in the taxi.

Albano said two fan knives were recovered from the two men at the time of their arrest at around 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Matta said they managed to tail the two suspects through Alba’s operator, who claimed it was only Alba who drove the MVBS taxi with plate number TYL-501, which was seen used by the armed men during the Red Ribbon robbery.

Based on information they gathered, policemen conducted a stakeout along Litex Road and eventually spotted the cab, leading to the two suspects’ arrest.

However, the management of the restaurant decided not to press charges against the two suspects, who will now just face cases for illegal possession of deadly weapons.

Matta said they are checking other robberies in the city to determine if the arrested suspects were also involved in them.