Cops nab 4 suspects in motorbike shop heist in Mandaluyong

MANDALUYONG, Philippines – Four of five men accused of robbing a Mandaluyong motorcycle shop and its workers last Monday were nabbed by police on Tuesday. The four men allegedly took more than P100,000 in cash and goods from the R-Cycle Motors on Shaw Boulevard in Barangay Bagong Silang, according to Senior Superintendent Carlos Desagun, the Mandaluyong police chief. The suspects were arrested at their homes in Marikina and Antipolo after police acquired leads from a related robbery. Another suspect, identified as Belardo Villanueva, got away. Desagun identified the suspects as Army chaplain and reservist Crisanto Bantigue, Neil Young and Manuel Ceropon – all of Marikina – Rogelio Placigo of Antipolo. The robbery happened at about 7:30 a.m. The suspects reportedly barged in as soon as employee Lubert Celestino opened the store’s roll-up door. The suspects got his cash and personal belongings, along with those of Mary Rose Salamanca, Melanie Cruz, Mayel Malubag, and Jesus Peralta. The suspects also took six motorcycle helmets. Villanueva, the suspect who got away, was formerly the chief mechanic of the store’s branch in Pasig City. He was also linked to a robbery that happened in the Pasig branch last year. He has since been at-large, but the victims – who went with the police on their follow-up operations to identify the suspects – confirmed his involvement in the Mandaluyong robbery through a police sketch. The suspects are detained at the Mandaluyong Police Station, pending the filing of charges against them. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV