Home invasions prevalent in Las Piñas?

MANILA, Philippines – There have been at least three home invasions at a subdivision in Las Piñas over the past few months, local officials said Friday.

The latest incident involved the family of Dennis Guevara, who was beaten up and nearly shot on Oct. 18 by robbers who barged into his home in Greenview Subdivision in Pamplona 3. His wife, daughter and sister-in-law were bound, gagged and blindfolded by the robbers.

Another resident, Raymond Azuela, said he was also a victim of robbers who broke into his home.

On Aug. 26, when he came home from work, Azuela said he noticed the front door was jammed. When he tried to use the back door, he saw that the grills on his window were cut and he discovered that the robbers had taken valuables amounting to P200,000.

“After the incident, I asked around the subdivision and found out that almost everyone on the block was robbed,” Azuela said in an interview.

He added that he kept calling the investigators handling the case for updates, but to no avail.

No suspects

Police Officer 3 Mark Warren Tino of the Las Piñas police’s Station Investigation and Detective Management Branch said while they were able to lift fingerprints from the Guevaras’ home, they were still unable to identify the suspects involved.

He later said they have leads but refused to reveal the names of the suspects while the investigation is ongoing.

“We are currently hunting the suspects,” Tino added.

On Oct. 18, the Guevara residence was invaded by four armed men who were looking for a man named Gerald.

When Guevara responded, one of the robbers pistol-whipped and hogtied him.

Three more armed men barged into their home, tied up his daughter, wife and sister-in-law and locked them in the bathroom. Guevara was left unconscious outside.

The group took away their money, jewelry and gadgets amounting to P400,000.

Footage

In a closed-circuit television footage provided by the barangay, a gold Toyota Avanza – believed to be the one being used by the robbers – was seen going around the subdivision.

Based on initial investigation, the househelp of one of the Guevaras’ neighbors said a group of men claimed to be workers of a telecommunications firm who were tasked to install a DSL connection.

When the househelp refused to let them enter the house, the robbers targeted the Guevaras instead because their gate had been open at the times.

Local officials – who asked not to be named – confirmed that the Guevara family was not the only one whose home had been invaded by robbers in recent months.