Two men were arrested while three teens who were children in conflict with the law (CICL) were rescued by the police after they allegedly broke into a car and stole some personal items of a student in Barangay Santulan, Malabon City on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Col. Amante Daro, Malabon City Police Station (MCPS) chief, identified the arrested suspects as Gerald Parungao, 35, a massage therapist, and his cousin, Jade Alfred Parungao, 26, a tattoo artist, both from Valenzuela City.
Staff Sgt. Jeric Tindugan of the MCPS, investigator on case, told Manila Bulletin that at around 6 a.m. on Saturday, the victim, Jef Mariano, 21, discovered that the glass window of the right rear door of his of Mitsubishi Space Gear model 2000 parked in Rodriguez Street, Barangay Santulan, was broken. He also found out that his items inside the car were missing.
Mariano immediately went to the Barangay Santulan Hall to check the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages in the area.
A CCTV footage showed that the suspects, along with the three male CICL with ages 13, 14, and 15, took the victim’s valuables inside the car after breaking its window around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The suspects and the minors fled on board a tricycle going to Barangay Malita, Valenzuela City.
Tindugan said the tricycle driver who brought the suspects to Barangay Malinta cooperated with the police leading to the suspects’ arrest.
Members of the MCPS, in coordination with the Valenzuela City Police Station, arrested the suspects and rescued the minors in their residence in Barangay Malinta.
Police said the suspects were nabbed after Mariano claimed that the watch worn by Jade Parungao was his.
The victim’s stolen items including one Yamaha soundbar (speaker) worth P10,000.00; a Yamaha subwoofer worth P10,000.00; four wristwatches worth P46,000; a luggage bag containing assorted clothes and a pair of shoes estimated worth of P40,000, and sleeping pills worth P106,000 were recovered.
Police said that the 15-year-old teen is now under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) while the two other minors were brought to the Barangay Council for Protection of Children (BCPC) of Barangay Santulan, Malabon.
Tindugan said charges for robbery were filed against the arrested suspects.