CEBU CITY – Police insisted that there was no foul play in the deaths of four men who were allegedly involved in a mall robbery in Mandaue City last Saturday night.
Police Col. Roderick Mariano, chief of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), said pursuing police officers acted in self-defense when they shot and killed Kevin Plaza Andales, 25, of Tangub City; Wilfredo Suerte Enguito, 47, of Tangub City; and Philip Faburada of Tondo, Manila.
“The lives of our policemen were endangered so they had to protect themselves,” said Mariano.
Another suspect, Glen Tairos, 47, of Talisay City, Cebu, was also killed after he allegedly shot it out with the police at Polambato Wharf in Bogo.
“Tairos was tracked down as result of a series of follow-up series. It was his choice to shoot it out with the police,” Mariano added.
The fatalities were allegedly among the group of armed men who robbed four jewelry stores and a money changer shop inside the J-Center Mall in Mandaue City.
Pieces of jewellery amounting to P130 million and P6-million cash were stolen during the heist.
A few hours after the robbery, Andales, Enguito, and Faburada were caught aboard a Masbate City-bound vessel in Bogo City but they allegedly tried to grapple for firearms on their way to the police station that forced the policemen to shoot them.
The other suspects currently in police custody are Roel Suminigit, 35, of Tangub City; Jun Candelaria, 38, of Naga City, Bicol; Juvilyn Quirante, 43, of Tangub City; Arnel Cimafranca, 38, of Tangub; and James Anthony Gomez, 44, of Ozamis City.
The Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas (CHR 7) has launched an investigation into the deaths of the four suspects.
Mariano welcomed the investigation as he stressed that there was no intention to kill the suspects especially that investigators wanted to extract information from them.
“We wanted them alive because we want to know what drove them to stage the robbery,” said Mariano.
Police initially said Tairos was the leader of the group but Mariano said they are currently checking if a man from Ozamiz City was the one who actually headed the group.
Mariano presented a footage of a security camera showing a group of men arriving in Bogo a few hours after the robbery. The men immediately boarded a bus and returned to Mandaue.
Operations to arrest the other suspects identified as Ranger, Tony Boy, Mark and Ryan are in progress, police said. (Calvin Cordova)
