4 men rob Ceres bus, kill collector

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Four unidentified men robbed a Ceres Liner bus, stabbed its collector to death after divesting him of his cash collections and divesting passengers of their personal belongings and money along the national highway at Brgy. Punta Mesa in Manapla town of Negros Occidental at around 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Inspector Julius Cesar Colado, Manapla Police chief, said the fatality was identified as Ricardo Despi who was stabbed twice in the chest by one of the suspects after they took away his cash of about P9,000.

The passengers brought Despi to the hospital and reported the incident to the police. A resident of Sagay, Despi was declared dead on arrival at the Ika-ayong Lawas Hospital in Victorias City, Colado said.

Investigations showed that the four suspects boarded the Ceres bus at the town proper of Manapla, which came from Escalante and bound for Bacolod. Upon reaching the highway along Hacienda Lourdes, the suspects declared a hold-up, and divested the collector and the passengers of their money and cellular phones at gunpoint.

The suspects, described to be in their early 20s, covered their faces with handkerchiefs, and were armed with a revolver, a home-made shotgun, and bladed weapons. - THE FREEMAN