Ozamiz group behind daring Davao pawnshop robbery

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/6 Mar) — At least eight former splinter members of the notorious Ozamiz Robbery-Holdup Group were behind the Hannah’s Pawnshop & Jewelry robbery in Ilustre Street here last Feb. 26, police said.

The suspects in the robbery of Hannah’s Pawnshop & Jewelry, as presented by the DCPO. MindaNews photo by IAN CARL ESPINOSA

Col. Hansel Marantan, acting city police director, said in a press conference at the Davao City Police Office Thursday afternoon that the Tolentino Criminal Gang, a group formed by former Ozamis Group members, planned the operations as early as December 2024.

Marantan said that at least eight suspects were involved in the broad daylight robbery where the suspects carted away ₱40 million worth of jewelry.

Of these eight, only Johnny Bulawan, who admitted he was the one who used a sledgehammer to destroy jewelry containers, was arrested.

Marantan said a certain Marvin “Tata” Beronguis led the robbery, as testified by Bulawan.

Beronguis is still at large among seven other suspects. Police identified the other six as Jimmy “Jerome” Calo, Jade Lasula Dadang, a certain “Rodolfo,” alias “Jack,” an unidentified female, and an unidentified male.

The police alleged that the suspects might be under drug influence before and during the robbery. “Hindi sila normal na tao. They were monsters at that time,” Marantan said.

As Marantan narrated, Bulawan met with Beronguis in Argao, Cebu in December 2024, then at a later date, both Bulawan and Beronguis met with Calo in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental to plan to survey or scout pawnshops in Davao City.

The actual surveying or “casing,” Marantan said, happened in mid-January 2025, as the suspects drove an undisclosed vehicle from Gingoog to Davao City.

Around 10 p.m. on Feb. 24, Calo, together with Bulawan and “Jack,” drove his own Toyota Innova from Gingoog to Davao City, arriving in Davao at 5 a.m. on Feb. 25.

Col. Hansel Marantan during the 6 March 2025 press conference on the case of the Hannah’s Pawnshop & Jewelry robbery. MindaNews photo by IAN CARL ESPINOSA

At about the same time, Dadang left Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and arrived at 5 a.m. as well.

They then met near SM City Davao and booked rooms at Twin H Inn and Jackbell Inn, both located in Matina Aplaya here, and stayed overnight, before committing the robbery on Feb. 26.

Marantan emphasized that the suspects really planned to rob the specific pawnshop.

In an interview with reporters, Bulawan, who is jailed within the DCPO headquarters, said they robbed the pawnshop because of its lax security.

When asked of their intentions why Davao City and why during broad daylight, he said that one of their members told him they want to “just create chaos” in the city.

“I was hesitant that we’re going to Davao City, but I can’t back out anymore because I don’t have fare to go back home,” Bulawan said in Cebuano.

Marantan said he immediately thought of the Ozamiz Group upon learning that one of the suspects, the arrested Bulawan in particular, carried an M-16 rifle. Members of the group, he said, usually carried assault rifles. The use of sledgehammers is a signature Ozamiz Group practice, too, the police chief added.

But he said that the Ozamiz Group is no longer as capable as it once was. Marantan added that before, the group had a leader, who is now dead. “The Ozamiz group doesn’t have a centralized leadership anymore,” he said.

Marantan said the Ozamiz Group is a known notorious criminal gang known for its involvement in armed robberies, drug trafficking, and other organized crimes. It has been linked to high-profile heists, including bank and pawnshop robberies, he added.

The gang has had several run-ins with authorities, leading to arrests and deadly shootouts, which Marantan said included the major police operation in 2017 that resulted in the death of suspected the group’s leader, Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, and several of his family members.

Despite criticisms on social media that the police arrived late at the crime scene or the robbery was staged, the police chief said they responded “within one minute,” a statement refuted by a representative of the pawnshop.

San Pedro Police Station commander Emmanuel Manlatican said they had already put mobile patrols near the area, in addition to Central 911 force multipliers responding during the operations.

A representative from Hannah’s Pawnshop & Jewelry who refused to be identified said they were “traumatized” with what happened that they are now undergoing psychological therapy.

The representative, who spoke during the police’s press conference, said she was 10 minutes away but arrived at the pawnshop ahead of the police. “I have so many questions in my mind,” she added.

In response, Marantan admitted that their response to the robbery was “imperfect.”

Col. Hansel Marantan talks to representatives of Hannah’s Pawnshop & Jewelry. MindaNews photo by IAN CARL ESPINOSA

He said that because the robbers ran in different directions as they fled, the policemen got confused, too.

Marantan then said that the robbery was an isolated case, and that Davao City is “very safe.”

However, he admitted that DCPO is not coordinating directly with Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, but only through the head of the Public Safety and Security Office, Angel Sumagaysay. The PSSO is under the City Mayor’s Office.

The mayor and the police chief have not been in good terms after the Philippine National Police changed the city police director frequently.

Mayor Duterte said that the suspects may have been asked to rob the pawnshop for a reward. He added, too, that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Philippine National Police are “very lenient on criminals,” thus emboldening the latter to stage similar incidents.

Marantan said that he is “no politician’s police. I am a police of the people.” He added: “I’m here to protect Dabawenyos.” (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)