By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:42:00 06/30/2009
MANILA, Philippines – The next time you’re in a taxi passing through Edsa be
sure that all the doors of the vehicle are locked, especially if you’re caught
in slow-moving traffic.
The Mandaluyong police issued this warning to the public Tuesday in response to
a criminal syndicate using young boys to rob cab drivers and their passengers.
Senior Superintendent Carlos de Sagun, Mandaluyong police chief, said the modus
operandi usually involved a pair of youngsters with one distracting the driver
by knocking on his side of the vehicle while his cohort opened the door on the
passenger side.
“Since the driver is distracted, the other can filch his earnings [on the
dashboard] from the other side,” De Sagun said.
The official added that since the thieves were minors, they often would get
away with the crime and would just be sent to the Department of Social Welfare
and Development.
In May, operatives of the Mandaluyong police’s Special Operations Group
arrested two minors – a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy – for allegedly
staging a “bukas kotse [open car]” heist on Edsa.
The operation was conducted in response to a complaint filed by Jesus Palmos, a
resident of Makati City, who wrote the police regarding the modus operandi.
The minors later told investigators they were working for two men who were
arrested in follow-up operations from May 21 to May 22 on Edsa, De Sagun said.
They were identified as Rodolfo Repollo Jr., 21, and Jerry Cordero, 22, both
suspected members of a criminal gang. They were later released after posting
bail on theft charges, the police said
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