Police nab ‘lookout’ in Cebu City pawnshop robberies

A habal-habal driver, who was caught in possession of illegal drugs, was confirmed to be another suspect behind the robberies of two pawnshops in downtown Cebu City last August 8. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A 42-year-old habal-habal driver, who was nabbed for possession of suspected shabu and a firearm, was identified as another suspect behind the robberies of two jewelry shops along Calderon Street in downtown Cebu City last August 8.

The arrested suspect was identified as Michael Obaob Puno, alias Mik-Mik, 42.

Puno is a resident of Upper Turalba, Barangay Apas, Cebu City and a habal-habal driver.

He was apprehended at past 1 a.m. on Friday, August 16, for possession of suspected shabu and an unlicensed .38 caliber revolver in Brgy. Apas.

Puno is one of the five identified suspects responsible for stealing jewelry worth around P15 million from the pawnshops.

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According to Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) spokesperson Police Leuitenant Coronel Maria Theresa Macatangay, the suspect served as a lookout.

Puno was identified through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages in nearby establishments of the crime scene as his face was clearly exposed.

Pieces of evidence that the police gathered showed that Puno was present before, during, and after the robbery.

Moreover, he allegedly admitted during interrogation that he was tasked to dispose of the firearms used in the crime.

Other suspects

In front of the media, however, Puno denied this and claimed that he was only instructed to drive the suspects to Talisay City after the incident.

Aside from Puno, another individual who also served as a lookout has been identified by law enforcers.

Following the habal-habal driver’s arrest, two suspects behind the pawnshop robberies are now in police custody.

On Tuesday, August 13, police nabbed Marcial Ponesto, 31, at a vacant lot in Brgy. Paknaan, Mandaue City.

Ponesto is accused of being the driver of the sports-utility vehicle (SUV) that was used by the suspects as the getaway vehicle.

Police were able to recover the SUV before Ponesto had the chance to transfer it.

The owner of the recovered SUV was identified as a policeman from a different region who was acquainted with Ponesto.

Police are still in the process of reaching out to the officer, who is considered as a Person of Interest (POI), as they investigate his involvement in the crime.

Robbers not from Cebu

Macatangay revealed that there are at least nine suspects behind the incident. However, only five of them have been identified so far.

In an earlier interview, police revealed that most of the robbery suspects are not from Cebu and are allegedly remnants of the Parojinog group based in Mindanao.

When they arrived in Cebu, they allegedly contacted locals like Ponesto to help them execute their plan.

Recently, speculations arose online that the mastermind behind the incident is already detained by police in the city.

Macatangay, however, said that they will checking whether this information is factual.

In addition, the investigation is still ongoing to catch the other suspects and determine the location of the stolen jewelry.

Charges

Macatangay appealed to other jewelry stores in the area to report to police any suspicious transactions involving a large number of jewelry.

With this development, Macatangay disclosed that their goal is to charge multiple cases, including robbery in band, against the identified suspects by next week.

She assured the public that their efforts are nonstop to solve these robbery cases as soon as possible.

“We want to tell the people of Cebu City that your Cebu City Police Office is really on top of the situation. We are onboard and serious about getting all these criminals and filling cases against them,” she stated.