By Jennifer P. Rendon
One of the suspects in the robbery and killing of a delivery van driver in Lambunao, Iloilo, was arrested on the morning of August 28.
Jover Maulas, 39, a driver from Barangay Pasig, Lambunao, was apprehended in Barangay San Vicente, Culasi, Antique.
Members of the Lambunao Municipal Police Station, in coordination with the Iloilo Police Provincial Office Provincial Intelligence Unit (IPPO-PIU), 2nd Iloilo Provincial Mobile Force Company, 2nd Antique Provincial Mobile Force Company, Antique PIU, and Culasi Municipal Police Station, arrested the suspect by virtue of a warrant for robbery with homicide under Criminal Case No. 23-1876.
Judge Gemalyn Faunillo-Tarol of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 76, Janiuay, Iloilo, issued the arrest warrant against Maulas and two other individuals. No bail was recommended for his temporary release.
Maulas is the second most wanted person in Iloilo province.
The robbery incident took place on the afternoon of Sept. 15, 2022, along the national highway in Barangay Pasig, a village just 7 kilometers from the town proper.
The robbery resulted in the death of Jerry Faldas, the driver of a delivery van for Iloilo City-based cigarette distribution company Japan Tobacco Inc.
Faldas, a resident of Barangay Port San Pedro, City Proper, Iloilo City, was believed to have died instantly from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Two of his co-workers were also injured when the gunmen opened fire as they fled.
Elbert Mardoquio, 37, of Barangay Inaladan, Cabatuan, Iloilo, was shot in the back.
Jeriel Nalangan, 35, of Barangay Libot, Calinog, Iloilo, sustained gunshot injuries to his arm and shoulder and a graze wound to his head.
The three victims had come from Barangay Jayubo, Lambunao, and were in an uphill section of Pasig around 3:45 p.m. when they were ambushed.
The assailants, who had apparently hidden in a grove, emerged by the roadside as the van approached.
The survivors said the suspects fired at them without warning. The initial shots struck Faldas, causing the vehicle to stop.
Mardoquio and Nalangan immediately exited the van and fled, but the suspects continued shooting at them. Fortunately, the bullets did not fatally wound them.
The robbers took approximately P591,000 in cash and the victims’ personal belongings before fleeing on foot toward Barangay Banban, Lambunao.
Reports indicated that Maulas and his accomplice went into hiding after the incident. They were not previously known to have any criminal cases in Lambunao or its neighboring towns.
