Man arrested for breaking into posh Valenzuela homes

MANILA, Philippines - A man wanted for breaking into several homes in posh subdivisions in Valenzuela City was arrested by a policeman who happened to be having breakfast across the street from a house he allegedly burglarized yesterday morning.

Rustico Canlas, 51, of Sampaloc, Manila, was coming out of the house of Valenzuela City government employee Mel Salvador when Police Officer 2 Joseph Melpaz saw him about to ride his red Toyota Corolla (PMY-904).

Melpaz said the police had been alerted about the car and “the suspect was familiar to me because I have seen him on several (videos) we have in our files, so I immediately asked for back up and arrested him.”

Canlas, who introduced himself as a television advertising executive, was wanted for a string of robberies in Valenzuela dating back to January.

Police officers confiscated from Canlas a Professional Regulation Commission card identifying him as a licensed chemical engineer, a fake driver’s license, a homemade gun with four bullets, a small crowbar, and money in an envelope he had reportedly stolen from Salvador’s house.

‘Brazen’

Valenzuela police chief Senior Superintendent Rhoderick Armamento told The STAR that Canlas had been the subject of a manhunt after complaints piled up in his office regarding a “huge” man riding an old Toyota Corolla who had been breaking into several houses, mostly in posh subdivisions.

“He is so brazen. He would attack mostly in the morning or around lunch time, just opening the gates of his supposed victims and destroying the doors to gain entry,” Armamento said.

Canlas was first seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage when he tried to break into the house of Arsenio Uy in Fortune 6 Subdivision on March 27.

Uy told police they added five CCTV cameras following that attempt. The suspect came back after less than a month and tried opening their front door but was unsuccessful, he added.

Another CCTV video showed Canlas, who weighs more than 300 pounds and stands 6’2” tall, trying to enter the house of a businesswoman in Malanday. When he failed to crack the lock, the suspect used his shoulder to forcibly open the door.

Armamento said Canlas’ alleged victims are willing to file charges.

Canlas was held at the city’s detention center yesterday pending the filing of charges of multiple robbery, falsification of documents, and illegal possession of firearms.

Meanwhile, investigators said the Corolla’s ownership was traced to Lalaine Legaspi, whose parents said it had been sold several years ago.