Gun owner on QCPD cop slay charged

Criminal charges have been filed against the registered owner of a firearm used in a 30 June robbery that resulted in the death of a Quezon City Police District (QCPD) officer and injuries to two civilians.

QCPD acting director Col. Randy Glenn Silvio announced Monday that the charges were filed against Hernando Dela Cruz Robes, a resident of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

Investigators determined that the H&K USP 9mm pistol, serial number 24-048817, used by suspect Rolando Villarete in the robbery, was registered to Robes. Records show Robes owns three firearms, and the license for the pistol in question expired on 17 March 2014.

Robes is reportedly a cousin of Arthur and Rida Robes, a political couple in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

When initially contacted, Robes’ sons claimed the firearm had been sold to a Manuel Marcos Mercado through an Absolute Deed of Sale dated 10 March 2023. However, further investigation revealed that Mercado did not possess a License to Own and Possess Firearms, and his own registered firearm had a license expired since August 2007, marked as “License Revoked” by the Firearms and Explosives Office.