Police arrested two students for breaking into the condominium of a police colonel in Ermita and taking some P600,000 in cash, electronic gear and jewelry Monday night.

                One of the suspects was identified as Ivan Ocampo, 20, reportedly a third-year Hotel and Restaurant Management student at La Consolacion College and a resident of Caloocan City.

                The second suspect whose name was withheld by police since he was only 16 years old, is said to be a BS Marine Transportation freshman student of the Philippine Merchant Marine School and a resident of Malibay, Pasay City.

                The alleged victims are Supt. Clifford Gairanod, 40, married, detailed at the Training Services, Philippine National Police (PNP) Headquarters, Camp Crame, Quezon City, and his brother Al Jose Gairanod, 33, married, trader and of resident Magsaysay Street, Villa Aurora, Cebu City.

                Chief Insp. Benigno Macalindong, chief of the MPD-TRS, said the suspects broke into Unit 18-A, Pearl of the Orient Condominium on Roxas Boulevard, Ermita at 5:30 p.m. Monday after Gairanod left to jog along the seawall on Roxas Boulevard.

                As he was walking to his room, he saw one of the suspects coming out. He approached him and asked why the suspect entered his room.

                Gairanod then noticed that the padlock of his room was destroyed. He grabbed the suspect’s hands. As he was holding the suspect, he checked on his room and noticed that cash amounting P500,000, an electronic camera worth P41,000, a Nokia N95 cell phone worth P31,000, another Nokia cell phone worth P3,500 and jewelry worth P70,000 were missing.

                A follow-up operation was conducted at the gasoline station on President Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City at 11:30 p.m. Monday. This led to the arrest of the second suspect, who is a minor. --TJ Agcaoili

‘Karen’ kills five in the North

Five people were killed while another one was declared missing as Typhoon Karen battered the whole of Northern Luzon on Tuesday, disaster officials said.

6 injured in Zambo grenade explosion

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Six people were injured in a grenade explosion Wednesday night in downtown Zamboanga City.

PNP files 61 cases vs MILF leaders

The Philippine National Police (PNP) filed 61 separate criminal complaints against leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who were responsible for the pillage of several barangays in North Cotabato.

Groups give ‘comment’ on MOA-AD issue

PIKIT, Cotabato—A group of church leaders, multisectoral organizations and people’s groups that would belong to the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) should it push through also want their voices heard by the Supreme Court (SC) when the High Court hears arguments on August 22 on the controversial memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD).

Bandits kill Marine officer, woman

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Gunmen believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits killed an officer of the Philippine Marines in an ambush Tuesday in the island province of Sulu, where troops are hunting down the remaining leaders and followers of the bandit group.

2 students in condo robbery nabbed

Police arrested two students for breaking into the condominium of a police colonel in Ermita and taking some P600,000 in cash, electronic gear and jewelry Monday night.

Kato wounded in ambush

Still-unidentified armed men ambushed the group of Umbra Kato in Shariff Kabunsuan on Tuesday, seriously wounding the rogue commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and killing two of his men, a regional military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Malacañang to foreign embassies: Govt-MILF pact signing shelved

Malacañang has informed heads of foreign embassies in Manila that it has to shelve its plan to sign the controversial memorandum of agreement  on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) following “barbaric attacks” launched by the Islamic secessionists in parts of Mindanao.