4 robbery suspects slain in Quezon City, Manila

MANILA, Philippines — Four suspected robbers were killed in separate police operations in Quezon City and Manila before dawn yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Joselito Esquivel Jr., Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director, said the alleged encounter happened in Barangay Gulod at around 1:35 a.m.

Esquivel said policemen went to the area after a concerned citizen informed them about two suspicious-looking men on a motorcycle cruising along Midway street.

“While operatives were approaching the area, suspects opened fire, that resulted in a shootout,” he said in a text message.

A policeman was hit by a bullet but was not injured as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

The other police officers retaliated and killed the suspects on the spot, Esquivel said.

A .38 caliber revolver, a .45 caliber pistol, a bag containing several motorcycle registration plates and two sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu were recovered from them.

Esquivel said they have yet to identify the suspects, who are in their 30s.

In Manila, two suspected motorcycle robbers died in an alleged shootout in Tondo.

The suspects, both in their mid-20s, have yet to be identified, said Senior Police Officer 3 Charles John Duran, Manila Police District (MPD) homicide investigator.

Prior to the encounter, Marjorie Munoz, 19, reported that two unidentified men on a motorcycle forcibly took her motorcycle along H. Lopez Boulevard at around 3:20 a.m.

The MPD set up a checkpoint along Road 10 and cordoned off the area.

Minutes later, members of the Raxabago police station, under Superintendent Jay Dimaandal, spotted the suspects and followed them.

The suspects reportedly shot at the lawmen, triggering a running gun battle, Duran said.

Probers recovered a .38 caliber revolver, a 9mm pistol and five sachets of shabu from the suspects.