Biodata left in highway robbery site leads to arrest of suspect

Personnel from the Highway Patrol Group (HPG-7) arrested the suspect of a highway robbery in Santa Lucia, Barangay Taptap, Cebu City, in his residence in Tuburan town on Monday, August 22. | Photo from HPG-7

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A biodata left in a highway robbery site led to the arrest of a construction worker in Barangay Maghan-ay in Tuburan town, northern Cebu on Monday morning,  August 23, 2021.

The suspect was identified by personnel of the Highway Patrol Group in Central Visayas (HPG-7)  as 38-year-old Joseph Gimongala.

Gimongala was arrested a day after he robbed motorcycle-for-hire driver Redfield Mariano in Sitio Lucia, Barangay Taptap in Cebu City.

Mariano, a resident of Barangay San Jose in Cebu City, was hurt during the highway robbery but survived and was even able to share the incident on his Facebook account.

This is where police  knew about the robbery.

Mariano’s partner narrated to the media that it was around midnight on Sunday, August 22, when the suspect approached the victim and asked him to take him to a mountain barangay in Cebu City. Mariano was at a bakeshop located in GND M. Cuenco, Barangay Talamban when the suspect hired him.

According to the victim’s partner, the suspect used a knife to declare a hold up while en route.  The victim was able to continue driving through the Transcentral Highway until they reached Barangay Taptap, where an altercation happened. As both fell on the ground due to the altercation, the suspect was able to rush to Mariano’s motorcycle and drive away.

However, the suspect did not notice that during the altercation, some of his personal belongings fell from his bag, which included his filled-out biodata.

“Gi post dayon nako sa Facebook kung kinsay nakaila aning tawhana. Mao to nga daghan man nakaila nga nag message, mga silingan. Mao to, gi aksyonan dayon sa mga police ug kapitan sa ilang barangay,” Mariano’s partner said.

(I posted it immediately on Facebook, asking if anyone knew the guy. That’s when a lot left messages, like his neighbors. That’s when police and the chief of their village responded.)

Police Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Plania, HPG information officer, said  the Facebook post they saw helped locate the suspect.

With their coordination with the Tuburan Police Station and the barangay officials there, they were able to arrest Gimongala in his house in Tuburan town.

Plania said that based on their initial interrogation, the suspect said he did this crime due to poverty.

“He said he had no plans to rob anyone but because of poverty, he did it,” Plania said.

But further investigation revealed that the suspect already had a theft offense recorded in 2018 in Tuburan.

The suspect will be facing charges of attempted homicide, highway robbery, and violation of the anti-carnapping law.

READ: Police eye connection of 2 robbery incidents in Southern Cebu