EVIL RITES

Beware of TBS gang

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

THE Police Regional Office (PRO-6) warned parents and schools to prevent student hooliganism following the death of a taxi driver in the hands of three teenage gangsters Tuesday.

C/Supt. Cipriano Querol, PRO-6 director, said parents and teachers are key players in preventing students from joining gangs such as the True Brown Style (TBS-13).

Based on PRO-6 records, the TBS-13, which is a copycat of a Metro Manila-based gang, is tagged to 13 of the 14 cases of taxi driver robberies and killings in the city and province of Iloilo.

On Tuesday, the Arevalo police in Iloilo City arrested three minors suspected of stabbing to death cabbie Welter Ermita inside a subdivision in the district.

One of the suspects is an alleged TBS-13 member while two others are neophytes undergoing initiation rites.

Their final rite of passage was the robbery and killing of Ermita, according to the Arevalo police.

Querol said parents and teachers should educate minors not to join gangs and orient them on basic safety tips against criminals

Querol said the TBS gang recruits minors and requires them to commit crimes, such as robbing and killing taxi drivers, as part of their initiation rites.

The PRO-6 had received information that the initiation rites of TBS gang also include rape of would-be female members.

“It is alarming that the activities of TBS gang also indicate the possibility of kidnapping as part of the initiation rites of neophytes,” he added.

Querol had directed the Police-Community Relations Division and the Women and Children Protection Desk to initiate dialogues with school principals and officers of Parents-Teachers Association in relation to the growing concern of TBS gangsters.

“We have also instructed all Chiefs of Police to initiate dialogues in their respective areas as part of our prevention efforts,” he added.

Querol said the TBS gang is expected to expand its membership, especially in Bacolod City and other urban areas.