San Fabian ‘Doc’ eyed as kidnap group head
5 SLAIN IN SHOOT-OUT
A MAN nicknamed “Doc” who comes from an influential family in San Fabian has been tagged as the leader and protector of the five suspected members of a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) group slain in a shootout with police and military authorities at dawn Wednesday.
P/Sr. Supt. Isagani Nerez, chief of the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER), said “Doc” is now under investigation shortly after five suspected members of a suspected KFR group were killed in a shoot-out with the police in Dagupan City.
“Itong mga nag- aalaga ng mga criminalay dapat mabigyan ng leksyon,” Nerez told The PUNCH.
Nerez said “Doc”, who has siblings who are elected public officials, could himself be considering running for a position in the May 2010 election.
“He might have been attracted to join politics, too and maybe he is raising money for his candidacy,” he said.
Nerez added that “Doc” is supposedly the one who identifies the group’s potential victims.
The five suspects, who were all killed in the shootout, were identified as Elisco Emuslan, 34, of San Andres Bukid, Manila; Jesus Matienzo Jr., 40, of Market Sisa, Masbate; Joey Tinduyan of Dagohoy Street in North Cotabato; Glenn Ares of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; and Eduardo Estrella of Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City
Except for Estrella, the suspects were carrying cards identifying them as members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines but only Ares was verified to be in active service with the Philippine Army but is on an Absent Without Office Leave (AWOL) status.
Emuslan was identified by a relative as a former soldier from San Fabian.
Before the firefight, the five were spotted on board a stolen white KIA van, without a plate number.
The van was seen parked along the Bonuan Binloc Road and when accosted by a police mobile patrol, the driver and passengers sped away towards the downtown area.
The van sped past the police checkpoint in Bonuan Catacdang restaurant and exited to the Jose R. de Venecia Highway Expressway Extension.
There, they were met by another mobile patrol and cornered in a vacant lot.
Dagupan Police Chief Mariano Luis Verzosa said the suspects fired at the policemen first, prompting the shootout.
The suspects were brought to the Region 1 Medical Center where they were all declared dead on arrival.
Police Regional Director Chief Superintendent Romeo Gatan said recovered from the fallen gang members were a Cal. 45, a Thompson sub-machinegun, two Caliber 38 revolvers, and one Uzi Caliber Magnum 22.
Gatan said the group, believed to have been operating kidnap and armed robbery schemes since 2003 in Pangasinan and other neighboring provinces, had long been under surveillance.
A wealthy business-man based in Dagupan City was reportedly the next planned kidnap victim.
The group has been tagged to have been responsible for the kidnapping of two teenage sisters in this city in 2007; the attempted kidnapping of a kindergarten in Lingayen sometime July 2008; robbery-hold up of an Indian national in Barangay Binday on June 13, robbery hold- up of a businessman in Barangay Cayanga on June 17 and robbery hold- up of a salesman in Barangay Angio on June 22, all in San Fabian; robbery/hold- up of National Irrigation Administration Talavera payroll in Aliaga on June 30, 2009; and robbery hold- up of a grocery in Alibangbangan, Nueva Ecija on July 24, 2009.
“The neutralization of a well-armed criminal syndicate is one more example of what can be accomplished through inter-agency cooperation, well-coordinated operation and teamwork among law enforcement units,” Verzosa said, noting the cooperation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the operation.#/LM
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