By: Martin A. Sadongdong
Police announced yesterday the arrest of seven motorcycle-riding men allegedly involved in some of the so-called “extra-judicial killings (EJKs)” in Metro Manila.
Officials of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and Southern Police District (SPD) presented the suspects to the media at the SPD headquarters in Taguig City. They were arrested in separate operations launched by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as part of its intensified campaign against motorcycle-riding criminals.
The suspects were identified as Jovilo Sayadi alias Bilog, 25; Nasrodin Ayob, 40; Alvin Julius Aragon, 30; Jonel Dequillo, 30; JR Talangan Cocjin alias Nonoy Pating, 21; John Patrick Baterna Orias, 20; and Jonathan Cervano, 24.
“At least we prove our effort to go against riding-in tandem criminals with the arrests of these suspects since most of the killings, or what is usually called extra-judicial killings blamed to the PNP, will already be solved,” NCRPO Director Oscar Albayalde said.
Operatives of the Regional Police Intelligence Office Unit (RPIOU) collared Sayadi, who was then accompanied by his alleged cohort Ayob on San Felipe Street in Barangay Upper Bicutan, Taguig City, at 8:20 p.m. Tuesday.
The two were nabbed after police served a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Jaime Guray of Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 260 against Sayadi for murder.
A native of North Cotabato and resident of San Diego Street, Upper Bicutan, Sayadi was tagged as the top most wanted personality in Parañaque City for the third quarter of 2017 and is believed to have carried out more than 20 murders, according to Paranaque police chief Senior Superintendent Victor Rosete.
Quoting a report from the Paranaque Police, Albayalde said the two suspects were also part of the notorious Mamalangkay criminal group involved in robbery, holdup, carnapping and drug pushing incidents in Muntinlupa, Paranaque and Taguig cities. The leader of the group, Swaid Mamalangkay, is now being hunted.
Albayalde said Sayadi was also the suspect in the murder of taxi driver Edward Gamboa, 42, on November 28, 2016; 16-year-old John Marco Maranan on April 15, 2017; and Mary Jane Brustillo, 45, and Anita Ramos, 39 all in Parañaque areas.
Sayadi yielded a .45-caliber pistol loaded with six ammunition while Ayob surrendered a caliber 9mm pistol during the arrest.
Aragon and Dequillo were collared when they tried to evade a checkpoint on Romantic Street in Barangay Santa Ana, Taguig, last Monday. The duo yielded a .45-caliber pistol and caliber 9mm pistol. The motorcycle they were riding on was said to be stolen.
Taguig police are still verifying other cases possibly tied to them.
Last to fall were Cocjin, Orias and Cervano who were collared on Monday in Makati City. They were tagged in the murder of 17-year-old Maynard Manalo last November 14, and the wounding of retired policeman Bias Fabros, 47, and Micaela Orque, 17 last Sunday.
The trio are allegedly part of a notorious robbery-holdup group operating in Makati and Taguig cities, Albayalde said, citing a report from the Makati police.
According to Albayalde, the suspects admitted to police that they were RIT criminals and guns-for-hire during the interrogation.
“Basically, they are guns-for-hire but sometimes they are also conducting robbery-holdup operations by themselves.
They admitted it during the investigations and they have identified some protectors and handlers,” he said.
Albayalde refused to divulge the names of the “powerful and big” protectors of the suspect as they are now the subject of follow-up operations. He, however, hinted that most of the protectors are businessmen.
Albayalde said that they are investigating other shooting incidents and criminal activities possibly perpetrated by the suspects.
He encouraged the families of the victims to surface and file complaints against them.
“We show the faces of these riding-in-tandem suspects to you and to the public because we like to enjoin the victims and their families to come out and file cases. We believe that they are involved in many, many more criminal activities particularly robbery holdup and shooting incidents,” he stated.
