How Dagupan cops became No.1 in Ph

By  Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – What is the difference between the police station here and those in Metro Manila Manila and highly urbanized cities in Davao and Cebu?

EFFICIENT. The smart and snappy Dagupan City’s police who chalked up their station to land as the Best Police Station 2015 in the Philippines based on their year 2014’s efficient performance. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

The police station here bagged this year’s Best Police Station in the country after it solved a sensational crime, according to its Chief of Police (CoP) Superintendent Christopher Abrahano .

He said their award came after he and his men identified the personalities behind the Martilyo Gang (MG) that robbed in May 2014 the BHF Jewelry Gemline here.

In noon of that day ten robbers wielding short and high powered fire arms threatened to death employees of BHF and ransacked the gem shop. Unknown to them one of the three guards were unaccounted because he was at the second floor. As a result he shot and killed with his shot gun  one of the nine marauders who scampered away in their five motorcycles. But when police men plugged all the choke points here they could not find them as they left the motor bikes and Armalite assault rifles at their escape path and rode two Sports and Asian Utility Vehicles to abscond.

 48 hours after the heist, Abrahano identified Jomel Tamlayan, Bernard Hakim and Ephraim John Evangelista who were members of the Ga'ga' robbery holdup gang operating in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, Visayas and Mindanao Islands.

He said they were positively identified by witnesses through the rogues’ gallery presented by the National Capital Region Police Office and through the effort of the Provincial Intelligence Branch of Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPO).

“In less than 48 hours, we were able to establish the identity of the group with the identification of the three suspects. We consider this as a breakthrough in our investigation. And we are still on the go until all the suspects are identified,” Abrahano said.

Abrahano added that cases of robbery in band, attempted homicide and direct assault have been filed by the police at the office of the prosecutor hoping that warrant of arrest would be issued against them.

The Philippine National Police has a policy that identification and filling of case on the culprits even if they are not yet apprehended made the case as solved already.

Dagupan City's Chief of Police Supt. Christopher Abrahano and newshens. 

In March this year the police arrested Ga'ga’ Gang leader Resty Branzuela inside a convenience store in Lucena City. Ga'ga' was being linked to several robberies, car thefts, and kidnap-for-ransom cases in the National Capital Region.

Abrahano said his station bagging the award was not solely because of the MG but others like crime prevention of his men.

“Kaabikat na titingnan din iyong crime solution efficiency. Iyong crime prevention numbers kasi nag submit ka rin ng profile mo. Crime solution ka nga, la-os naman on the others aspects," Abrahano, a 1997 graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy, told this paper.

He said what made that Ga'ga’ Group sleuthing special was when this station bested Quezon City's Police District that could not identify those MG members who robbed an SM mall there  last December 2013 .

He cited too the Mindanao based MG robbed in 2012 the other branch of the BHF here that remained unsolved by his predecessor.

He said he was not expecting that his station chalking up the award since the police Special Action Force had killed Asia's No. 1 terrorist Zulkifli Abd Hir alias Marwan in Maguindanao in 2014.

“Proud lang ako na best natin ang award. Award ng station ibig sabihin bested natin ang highly urbanized “Imperial” Manila and others”.

He said that the PNP no longer gives award on the Best Police Stations where the CoPs like then chief of police here Roberto “Boysie” Rosales had been a perennial awardee.

 Abrahano, last June, was adjudged too as this year’s Outstanding Senior Police Commissioned Officer (PCO) of the Year in Police Community Relations in the province of Pangasinan.