By: Martin A. Sadongdong
Former National Press Club (NPC) president and now newspaper publisher Jerry Yap lost around P2 million worth of cash, checks, and other valuables to “Basag Kotse” gang in Pasay City, Wednesday night.
Senior Supt. Dionisio Bartolome, chief of Pasay police, 55, publisher of tabloid Hataw, together with his personal driver Alvino Requesto, parked his white SUV Chevrolet Trailblazer (WD 5117) in front of Antel Tower Condo on service road of Roxas Boulevard at around 8:30 p.m. to attend a meeting.
Yap then gave money to Requesto and asked him to eat in a nearby convenience store, leaving the car.
A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed that 30 minutes later, two men on board a motorcycle arrived and parked nearby the vehicle.
The backrider alighted from the motorcycle and broke into the rear portion of the SUV by smashing the right window glass at the passenger side.
The suspect carted away a Louis Vuitton bag worth P95,000 containing P900,000 cash, post-dated checks worth P1,000,000, his passport and other valuables.
When Requesto returned, he discovered that the vehicle was already broken so he informed Yap of the incident.
Yap immediately reported the incident to police and a follow-up investigation was conducted to identify and arrest the suspects.