CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 14-year-old boy was rescued by Parian policemen on Saturday morning, January 29, after he was identified to be one of two people who allegedly robbed a taxi driver in Barangay Lorega, Cebu City, on Friday evening, January 28.
Police Staff Sergeant Hannah Marie Batulan of Parian Police Station Women and Children’s Protection Desk said that they were finalizing the documents necessary to file a robbery complaint against the minor, such as pieces of evidence including the dashcam, security camera, and statement of the victim.
“Responsible jod sya ato kay iya man jod giconfirm nga usa gyud sya sa nagbuhat. Duha sila kabuok. Ang isa nagconduct pa tag follow up operation para makuha nato kay anyway naa naman tay identity, sa pagkakaron naa pa atong operation,” Batulan said.
(He is responsible because he confirmed it that he was one of those who did the crime. There were two of them. We are still conducting a followup operation to arrest the other suspect, whom we already have already identified.)
According to Batulan, the other accomplice, whom she believed was the mastermind of the crime, was an adult.
She also said that police, who already identified the alleged cohort. were already conducting a followup operation to arrest him.
Batulan said that the minor and his accomplice in the crime were identified as the culprits after they were caught in a security camera of an establishment in Barangay Lorega as they allegedly robbed the taxi driver.
She said village watchers or barangay tanods positively identified the suspects found in the footage of the security camera.
Aside from that, the victim also provided his dash camera or dashcam to the police and positively identified the minor, which led to the police rescuing the minor.
Batulan said that they rescued the minor at 5 a.m. on Saturday, January 29, when he was spotted arriving in his home in Barangay Lorega.
Police were then informed of the boy’s whereabouts and they went to the boy’s home to pick up the boy and inform his guardian about the robbery incident.
Batulan said that the boy would remain under the custody of the WCPD as they were still coordinating with the social worker for the proper handling of the minor.
“Sa pagkakaron anhi pa na sya kay kailangan pa ta magfile. So anhi pa na sya sa police station and makigcoordinate ta sa social worker para sa iyang disposition kung asa sya nga center pwede ibutang kung mafile na. Maghuwat lang ta,” she added.
(For now, he will be here with us because we need to file a complaint. So he will stay here at the police station and we are also coordinating with the social workers for the proper disposition on what center he will be placed when the case will be filed. We will just have to wait.)
Batulan also said that she would not disclose the specific participation of the minor to the crime.
According to the report of the Parian Police Station, at 10:40 p.m., the victim, Eduardo Algarme, 52, of Naga City, Cebu, was driving his taxi unit when he was flagged down by two male passengers along Imus Road in Barangay Lorega.
The two passengers boarded the taxi — one of them sat up front while other one sat at the back of the taxi.
Algarme told police that a few meters from where he picked up the passengers, he was told to stop the vehicle and then the passengers declared a holdup.
The one at back pointed a gun at the driver, while the one upfront took the taxi driver’s P1,700 earnings for the day.
The driver resisted by trying to stop the one in the front seat with the money to get out of the vehicle but the culprit still managed to open the door and leave the vehicle.
His cohort also got out of the vehicle.
Algarme said that he tried to stop the two by trying to run over them, but the one with the gun shot at him hitting the windshield of the vehicle.
Fortunately, the victim was not hit by the shot.
As of this posting, the police continue to conduct their followup operation to arrest the cohort of the minor.
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