The
remaining 10 members of the “Bye-Bye” kidnap-for-ransom-gang which evaded the
authorities after a shoot-out in C.M. Rector Avenue Thursday may have already
left the city, although no one knows for sure.
Two
of the gang members were kicked on the spot outside Allied Bank while another
one died on the way to the Southern Philippines Medical Center. The fourth
member is now in the custody of the authorities but ten more are on the run and
the authorities have no idea where they were headed after the shootout.
“Unfortunately
the witness gave the people on the ground wrong information as to the
description of the vehicles so our cameras were not able to monitor them,” Public
Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) Chief, Retired P/Chief
Superintendent Francisco Villaroman said during a press conference Thursday.
Villaroman
said a CCTV was installed right in front of the area where the shootout
happened. However, he said, “hindi pa nakakabit ang monitor when the incident
happened so we cannot really see.”
He
said the witness, who was still in shock after the incident, gave the wrong
color and type of vehicle so the cameras nearby and along the way were not able
to zero in on the appropriate getaway vehicle.
The
authorities earlier asked the public to watch out for Montero vehicles with
plate number FBU 1238. However, he said, the kidnappers are not stupid enough
to use real plate numbers which the authorities can easily flag down during their
trip from Manila to Davao.
“But
Dabawenyos should not be scared because the kidnappers are actually based in
Central Luzon and in Manila, not in Davao,” he said.
Villaroman
said they have received a phone call asking for assistance but he did not elaborate
on this, saying that giving away more information may warn the kidnappers. He
also reiterated that the authorities are not allowed to conduct an illegal
search so what they follow is the Plain View Doctrine.
