Operatives of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) killed three suspected members of a gun-for-hire group during a shootout in Caloocan City early Wednesday morning.
They were identified as Jojo Guinto Castro, Romy Manalo Mallari, and Escott Cao Roqu. The fourth suspect, the driver of a stolen car they were using, was able to escape.
HPG director Brig. Gen. Alexander Tagum said the shootout occurred after his men flagged down a sedan vehicle which is suspected to be using a license plate from a stolen car.
But as the HPG operatives were asking the suspects to produce the documents along Quirino Avenue in North Caloocan, the driver allegedly sped off the vehicle which triggered a car chase.
“Mobile and motorcycle teams of the HPG’s Special Operations Division (SOD) immediately chased the vehicle and briefly traded shots with the fleeing suspects until they lost control of their car and hit the roadside curb,” said Tagum.
The suspects went out of the car and ran away but three of them were cornered and were eventually killed.
During the investigation, it turned out that the suspects’ car was reported stolen in 2015 and that the attached license plate is in the list of lost plates. Police said the suspects were identified with a gun-for-hire syndicate.
“Three different license plates were likewise recovered from the vehicle in addition to other pieces of evidence,” said Tagum.