5 robbers dead in clash with police in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY --- Authorities shot dead five robbers after they took the cash collection of a roadside restaurant in Ampatuan, Maguindanao late Saturday.

Col. Jibin Boncayao, director of the Maguindanao provincial police, told reporters Sunday the group was led by Mihares Manunggal, who died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds. 

Bongcayao said Manunggal and his companions first robbed the Hannan Restaurant in Barangay Kauran, took its cash collection from owner Emma Militon at gunpoint and escaped using a white van as a getaway vehicle. 

Members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit and policemen at a roadblock in Sitio Midpalao in Kauran tried to stop their vehicle but they sped away and opened fire, sparking a gunfight that resulted in their deaths.

Boncayao said investigators from the Ampatuan Municipal Police Station recovered a .45 caliber pistol each from two of the five slain suspects.

Boncayao said they are still trying to identify the four other suspects who perished in the encounter.