ILOILO City – A former soldier of the Philippine Marine Corps suspected to be behind a series of holdup incidents in Iloilo province has been arrested.
Policemen caught Ricky Sabidio, 37, at Banggâ Mauring, Barangay Poblacion, Leganes, Iloilo around 4:03 p.m. on Tuesday minutes after having been alerted about a holdup in Barangay Guinobatan of the same town.
Cops got information that the robber was a man, was wearing a dark blue sweat shirt and helmet, and driving a black motorcycle without a plate number.
Sabidio, a resident of Santa Barbara, Iloilo, matched this description, said Senior Inspector Dadje Delima, Leganes police chief.
Bangga Mauring where the suspect was cornered was just a few meters away from the 24-hour operating Highway Police Assistance Desk that the Leganes police set up at the municipal public plaza.
Cops recovered from Sabidio a black pouch containing P2,500. It was from a delivery van driver who was robbed in Barangay Guinobatan, said Delima.
Other items confiscated from Sabidio were a loaded .45 Taurus pistol, two magazines loaded with 17 live ammunition, a hand grenade, a black backpack, two googles, four foreign currencies, and a sachet of shabu.
The police linked Sabidio to another holdup in Leganes – on May 31 in Barangay Cagamutan Sur – and previous holdup cases in Santa Barbara, Dumangas and Passi City.
“All the victims’ description of their robbers’ motorcycles matched with Sabidio’s,” said Delima.
He, however, declined to name the holdup victim in Leganes. He said the driver’s safety was a concern.
Sabidio was detained at the Leganes police station lockup cell. He faces a string of charges: robbery, illegal possession of firearm and explosive and violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
From what the police so far gathered, Sabidio was operating alone and not a member of any robbery group in the province./PN
