BAGUIO CITY – A 39-year old jobless man was reportedly collared by concerned taxi drivers after he allegedly robbed a taxi driver within the city’s dumpsite at Irisan, here, Friday night.
Senior Superintendent Ramil L. Saculles, City Director of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO), identified the arrested alleged taxi holdup suspect as Charlie Tulingan Ventura, 39, single, jobless and a resident of San Luis Extension, Baguio City.
Initial police investigation showed that the suspect allegedly flagged down the taxi driven by Lizardo Atawan Coteng, Jr., 36, married, taxi driver who hails from Itogon, Benguet but temporarily residing at Upper Gibraltar, Baguio City along Naguilian Road and requested the latter to bring him to the area of the Irisan dumpsite.
Upon arrival in the place of incident, the suspect allegedly pulled out a pointed object from his pocket, poked it to the victim and announced the heist and immediately took his cash collection amounting to over P600 placed under the dashboard and fled towards the dumpsite.
The victim was able to shout for help and call his colleagues through the radio installed on his vehicle wherein they were able to scour the area and saw the suspect posing as an alleged garbage collector.
The victim was able to positively identify the suspect who was accosted by his fellow taxi drivers who responded to his call for help and immediately turned him over to the responding police operatives.
The suspect is now awaiting the filing of the appropriate charges against him before the city prosecutor’s office.
By Dexter A. See