Police rescue kidnap victims, kill 4 suspects in Quezon City shootout 

FOUR suspected kidnappers were killed in a shootout with police who rescued their two victims before dawn in Quezon City on Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Danilo Macerin, Quezon City Police director, said Edmer Tumagan and Michael Pearson Bongcaras, employees of the Sybtites Construction Company, were abducted by the suspects early Tuesday.

He said the four unidentified male suspects died in an exchange of gunfire at about 1:30 a.m. in Barangay Old Balara.

Macerin lauded his men, led by Batasan Police Station chief Lt. Col. Romulus Gadaoni and members of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnaping Group (PNP-AKG) under Lt. Col. Morgan Aguilar for neutralizing alleged members of the “Wilbert Bonilla Kidnap-for-Ransom Group” and safe rescue of their two victims.

Reports said Aguilar’s team has monitored the syndicate for a month after an informant reported about its plan to kidnap a businessman.

The surveillance paid off as lawmen spotted the suspects along Commonwealth on board a Kia Besta van with license plate YKZ-682.

The PNP-AKG operatives immediately coordinated with QCPD and set up a joint checkpoint to intercept the suspects.

At 1 a.m. on Tuesday, the lawmen monitored the suspects who flagged down and forcibly took a silver Chevrolet with plate number WD-9505 with Tumagan and Bongcaras inside.

At about 1:30 a.m. the van and Chevrolet driven by the kidnappers arrived at Capitol Hills St. corner Zuzuaregue St, also in the same village, followed by the PNP- AKG.

However, upon seeing the checkpoint, the suspects suddenly turned left to Zuzuaregue St. and sped off as they fired on the pursuing operatives who shot back.

Scene-of-the-crime operatives recovered at least four short firearms and an M-16 rifle, live bullets and four sachets of shabu from two of the four slain suspects.