2 snatchers seen on viral video arrested

MANILA, Philippines - Two men seen on a surveillance camera video snatching a teenage girl’s cell phone in Quezon City were arrested in a raid in Antipolo City over the weekend, an official said yesterday.

The victim, a ninth grader at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, identified John Ralph de Guzman and Gilbert Pazcoguin as the ones who robbed her in broad daylight in Barangay Laging Handa last Sept. 22, said Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Benjamin Magalong.

The closed-circuit television (CCTV) video, which went viral on the Internet, showed four girls chatting at the corner of Scout Lozano and Scout Tobias streets when a man on a motorcycle stopped for a few minutes at the curb.

Moments later, another man walked toward the girls and pushed one of them against the wall, grabbing her iPhone 4s cell phone before running off to the waiting man on the motorcycle.

Magalong said he ordered his men to track down the suspects, who reportedly operated in Quezon City. He said that after several days, the suspects were tracked to their hideout in Barangay Dela Paz in Antipolo City last Saturday.

Investigators said Pazcoguin was identified as the man on the motorcycle while De Guzman was his cohort on foot.

 “Pazcoguin has his own group and has been involved in other incidents, but cases did not progress as victims of snatching did not file formal complaints against them,” Magalong said.

After the incident, Barangay Laging Handa chair Mari Rodriguez said they have beefed up patrols in the neighborhood and assigned personnel to monitor the peace and order situation in the barangay through CCTV cameras installed throughout the area.

The CIDG filed a case of robbery and child abuse against the two suspects since the girl’s father wanted to push through with the complaint, investigators said.