KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/11 May) — A commuter van plying the Kidapawan-Kabacan highway in North Cotabato was carnapped by four unidentified suspects while headed towards Amas complex here, at around 10:45 p.m., Friday, the chief of the Kabacan police said.
Superintendent Leo Ajero, chief of the Kabacan Police, said the suspects boarded the white Toyota Grandia D4D van with license plate MWB 846 along Quezon Boulevard, this city, at around10:30 p.m.
After the vehicle reached the dark portion of the national highway along Barangay Amas, two of the suspects seated at the back declared hold-up and robbed the commuters of their cash and other belongings.
When they reached Barangay Patadon, also a dark portion of the road in Kidapawan City, two more unidentified male suspects boarded the van and ordered the driver to proceed to Kabacan town, Ajero said.
He added that one of the suspects ordered the driver to disembark from the vehicle after they reached Barangay Dagupan, Kabacan. When the driver refused, he received a blow on his head from one of the suspects.
“The driver and the victims had no choice but to get off the van while the suspects sped off towards the Pagalungan-Montawal highway in Maguindanao province, using the Grandia as getaway car,” reports said.
The highway robbery in Cotabato highway was the second this week, reports said.
On Wednesday, around 1:30 p.m., a delivery van of the Philip-Marlboro Fortune Tobacco Corporation was held by two motorcycle-riding men along the national highway in Barangay Amas, this city. The suspects carted away some P150,000 cash from the collector and headed towards Barangay Katipunan, also in this city.
At around the same time, another hold-up incident transpired along the perimeters of the Kidapawan City Mega Market.
The victim was a cashier of a fruit firm who was robbed of her collections worth P55,000. The two suspects were also on board an XRM motorcycle without a license plate. (Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)