Task force on for cabbie murders
BAGUIO City Police Director Ramil Saculles has formed a task force to solve the death of two cab drivers over the weekend.
Driver Angel Umali Sarmiento died after thieves looted his daily earnings and left him for dead at Asin Road, Baguio City Friday early morning.
Sarmiento suffered several stabbed wounds after he was held up by still unidentified suspects, August 18 at Mulberry Alley. Residents were able to call the police who went to the crime scene.
Saculles said a task force has been formed to investigate the recent hold up and murder of taxi drivers in the city including the one found dead Saturday evening.
Authorities said the victim, identified as Roberto Albino, 47, married, a native of Bautista, Pangasinan, and temporarily residng at Km. 4 Asin Road, Baguio City, died after he was stabbed by
still unidentified passengers inside his vehicle at Badiwan, Tuba, Benguet.
According to police, concerned security guards of a structure in the area were alarmed after the victim kept blowing the horn of his vehicle as if something went wrong. After inspecting the vehicle, witnesses saw the bloodied body of the victim on the driver’s seat prompting them to rush him to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center for treatment but was declared dead on arrival by attending physicians due to a deep stab wound in his neck.
Probers are still ascertaining the motive of the victim’s murder after his collections and other personal belongings were intact.
The victim was supposed to go home when the incident happened after he was able to ferry still unidentified passengers to a still undisclosed destination.
The murder came after months of crime clearance efficiency which was seen to improve from 65% level to 80%, together with crime solution efficiency improving to its present level of 65% from 61%.
Police also reported overall crime volume dropped by 34.10% this year with 3,847 logged incidents compared to last year with 5,838 for the first quarter.
The BCPO reported recently, theft dropped by 71 percent, physical injuries decreased by 59 percent and robbery dipped by 73 percent while carnapping dropped by nine incidents or 17 percent. Rape, murder and homicide however increased by seven, five and 73 percent, respectively.
Index crime incidents from July 2015 to June 2017 saw a downward trend with the implementation of Project Double Barrel in July 2016 where index crimes have decreased.
Index crime clearance efficiency meanwhile increased from July 2016 to present with an average of 68 percent, compared to the same period of July 2015 to June 2016 of only 42 percent.
Index crime solution efficiency recorded an average of 51 percent from July 2016 to June 2017 with a 15 percent increase or an increase of the average of the previous years with only 37 percent.