4 suspected robbers killed in Cavite encounter

MANILA, Philippines - Four suspected robbers were killed in an alleged shootout with policemen in Silang, Cavite yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Joselito Esquivel, Cavite police director, said the slain suspects remain unidentified as of press time, while a fifth suspect escaped.

PO1 Ruben Cruzado, a member of the Special Weapon and Tactic Action team, suffered a gunshot wound in the left arm and left leg.

Prior to the encounter, police learned that five armed men hijacked a delivery van with P300,000 worth of Mighty cigarettes in Barangay Maguyam and seized the driver and his two companions.

Esquivel said a certain Joseph Bunial, a resident of Barangay Maguyam in Silang, reported the incident to police at around 10:30 a.m.

An hour after an alarm was flashed to all police units in Cavite, the hijacked van and a white Avanza (XTC-386) were seen in Josephine Subdivision in Barangay Luksuhin at around 12:15 p.m.

Esquivel said the hijackers shot at responding policemen, triggering a 15-minute firefight.

Esquivel told The STAR Saleman Emil Mendoza, 28, van driver; Rodolfo Tan, 52; and Aaron Paul, 24, all employees of Mighty Cigarette Co., were found hogtied with a duct tape at the backseat of the Avanza.

Police recovered various guns at the scene.