16 reported killed in Parañaque shootout


By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:41:00 12/05/2008


MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 5) Sixteen persons—including a seven-year-old girl—were reported killed in a running gun battle in the Sucat area of Parañaque City.
Alfonso de Vera, 53, and his seven-year-old daughter Alyanna were killed by members of police Special Action Force, according to witnesses at the site of a shootout inside the United Parañaque Subdivision 4, which the suspected robbers had entered while being chased by the police.
De Vera’s wife, Lilian, told reporters that policemen might have mistaken their van, with license plate Van XEW-327, for one of the getaway cars of the suspected robbers.
Also killed in the firefight were three other civilians, 10 suspected robbers, one policeman, the police said.
Several others were wounded, including a ranking officer of the Highway Patrol Group, two members of the Special Action Force, a village watchman, and a security guard, said Director Leopoldo Bataoil, head of the Metro Manila regional police.
The suspected robbers were members of the Waray-Waray Gang and Ozamis Group,
Bataoil said.
The shootout began at around 8:30 p.m. as the suspects, wearing black jackets similar to police jackets, were about to stage a heist, Bataoil said.
He said one of the slain suspects had an M2O3 rifle and another had a shotgun. With Thea Alberto, INQUIRER.net
Nadamay maraming innocente