DIGOS City – The intensified monitoring and surveillance operation lodged by the police composite team formed to catch the elusive criminal elements operating in Davao del Sur has paid off following the arrest of three individuals, while one of the suspects was killed in the process.
Colonel Geusseppe Geralde, Davao del Sur PNP commander identified those who were arrested as Barie Lonzaga, Rosemarie Himpayan, and Rodolfo Dabon, Junior.
Meanwhile, Rodolfo’s elder brother, Joel Dabon, was killed in a reported shootout with the operating troop at their safehouse at Purok Sampaguita, Sitio Headgate, Barangay New Katipunan, Matanao, Davao del Sur on Saturday afternoon.
The police rushed Joel Dabon to Centenno Hospital in Bansalan, Davao del Sur after the shootout, but the attending physician declared him dead on arrival.
Barie and Rosemarie are live-in partners; while Joel and Rodolfo are sons of Rosemarie from her former husband who is currently incarcerated for raping his own daughters.
Rodolfo Dabon, Jr. managed to escape from the raiding team wherein the police conducted another hot pursuit operation and sought assistance from nearby police stations that resulted in his arrest in the mountainous village in Malalag, Davao del Sur on the afternoon of March 26.
The operatives recovered a caliber .38 revolver with live ammunition, a fragmentation grenade, cellular phones, bags, cash money, and photos of women believed to be robbery-rape, gang victims.
In the report, Geralde said at the dawn of March 24, elements of Hagonoy police received information that a robbery-rape incident took place at Barangay Maliit Digos perpetrated by an armed group which prompted the police to mobilize and respond to the call for assistance.
However, when the cops arrived, the suspects fled in an unknown direction.
At this point, personnel from Hagonoy police station, PIU-DSPPO, Digos City police station, First DSPMFC, 2nd DSPMFC, Matanao police station, the Regional Special Operations Group-11 (RSOG-11), Regional Intelligence Unit-11 (RIU-11), and the 1104th Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) were mobilized to conduct a pursuit operation in an effort to catch the fleeing suspect.
In a stroke of luck, Hagonoy police received a phone call from an informant about a man and a woman who approached his shop to unlock a cellular phone wherein he saw the picture of the robbery and rape victim who was his classmate.
Responding police officers put the cellular phone and the suspects into custody and summon the victim who positively identified the phone as he’s resulting in the arrest of the suspects who turned out to be live-in partners; and the mother of the Himpayan brothers.
During the interrogation, the suspects admitted that Rodolfo and Joel were hiding in a safe house in Barangay New Katipunan, Matanao, hence, the police focused its pursuit operation where Joel was killed, while his younger brother Rodolfo eluded arrest but the operatives managed to trace his escape route and catch him up.
Geralde further claimed that the group was responsible for the series of robbery and rape incidents that occurred in different parts of Davao del Sur causing panic and anxiety among its residents.
In some instances, the group would barge into their target’s home, hogtie the husband, and rape the wife in his presence while looting all the money and valuable items inside the house before fleeing.
Rosemarie Himpayan, one of the suspects, admitted that her role is to sell or pawn valuable items after the robbery.
Cases of Robbery with Rape and Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition were filed against the suspects before the provincial prosecutors’ office in Digos City on Monday afternoon.
The police urged those who became the group's victims to show up to their office so that additional cases could be filed against the suspects.
