Junk shop owners, two others charged for P15.1-M worth of stolen telco batteries

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – A telecommunications firm has filed a criminal complaint for violation of Presidential Decree (PD) 1612 or the Anti-fencing Law on Tuesday, July 4, against two junkshop owners and two others, following the recovery of P15.1 million worth of stolen telco batteries from their junkshop here last week.

The complaint was filed by Globe against the owner of DLC junkshop Dennis Lopez Coo Jr., his brother and co-owner Daniel Lopez Coo, Rammely Abaring, manager, and Rodimar Juaneza, a security guard.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Sherlock Gabana, officer-in-charge of Mobile Patrol Unit of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), said that 136 units of telco batteries amounting to P13.6 million were recovered from the junk shop located on Mabini Street, Barangay 25 here, on June 29, after they intercepted a black van ridden by a group of persons.

Erwin Aribato, 30, Romelyn Quiatchon, 26, and Joseph Villanueva, 30, were arrested and police recovered from them 15 units of 12 volts 180AH battery amounting to P1.5 million that they were reportedly supposed to sell to the junkshop.

These three suspects have already been charged for robbery and are under the custody of Mabinay Municipal Police Station in Negros Oriental.

Their five companions, including their leader, are still at large, according to Gabana.

Gabana believed that these suspects are considered syndicated, but they don’t have a financier.

“May leader lang sila na former employee ka telco and gin pang recruit lang sila,” he said.

In fact, the group’s leader has a robbery case in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, and he is currently on probation, according to Gabana.

Gabana said they have already identified the five other persons, who are at large, but their names are being withheld in the meantime.

Gabana said the batteries were stolen from a cell site in Mabinay, Negros Oriental on June 28. He said that telco batteries are good quality to be used for solar power.

He said they were able to monitor the suspects’ vehicle, the following day, after they received information from Mabinay town police force about a black van boarded by the suspects going to Bacolod.

Gabana said the arrested suspects told the police that they could not recall how many times they sold some telco batteries to the said junk shop.

Daniel Lopez Coo is the real owner of the junk shop but because he’s young and still studying, the business permit was issued to his older brother Dennis.

Gabana said that Daniel is usually not present at the junk shop, as he is based in Manila. Thus, it is Abaring who supervises the daily operations of the junk shop and caters to clients, he added.

The BCPO noted that under PD 1612, it is unlawful to buy, receive, possess, or sell items that a person knows, or should know, were derived from the proceeds of robbery or theft.

He said they are waiting for the additional joint criminal complaints to be filed by Smart and PLDT against the junkshop owners and two others for the similar offense.

As of this writing, the Coo brothers and the two others have yet to issue a statement regarding the matter.