Ex-cop among suspects in Manila pawnshop robbery

MANILA, Philippines — One of the suspects in the recent robbing of a Western Union/M Lhuiller branch in Manila was a cop who went AWOL and is one of the 10 “most wanted" crime suspects in Quezon City, police said on Saturday. Chief Inspector Benigno Macalindong of the Manila Police District (MPD)-Theft and Robbery Section identified the suspect as PO2 Guimson Dulang Watamama, a resident of Maharlika Village in Taguig City. Macalindong said the suspect was a member of the Rodica Group that specializes in robbery. Watama is former member of PNP-SAF and was a member of the Security Aviation Group of NAIA before leaving unofficially. Watamama is also wanted for robbery with homicide charges and has a pending warrant of arrest issued by Judge Tita Marilyn-Payoyo illarion. Macalindog added that a witness positively identified the suspect through police gallery. One of the victims claimed that she saw Watamama riding in the white Toyota Corolla used as getaway vehicle of the four armed men after robbing the pawnshop-money transfer outlet in Manila's Sampaloc district on Tuesday. Police have said the robbers took some P1.1 million in cash and jewelry. - GMANews.TV