Waray-Waray gangs


Waray-Waray gangs are generic terms used in the Philippines to denote of criminal groups who are of Waray ethnicity. They originated from provinces Leyte and Samar where the majority are of Waray background, and later spread into Luzon. Most of their criminal activities involved armed robberies of highways and establishments, but they also dabbled in kidnapping, assassinations, illegal gambling and narcotics sale in modern times. The Waray-Waray gangs have been notorious for their encounters with the police.

History

Although Waray-speaking criminals have been documented in Luzon since the 1990s, it wasn't until 1997 where they first started being called Waray-Waray gangs. In that year, a Waray-Waray gang kidnapped Chinese-Filipino Virgilio and Christine Chua and their maid Analyn Simbajon. The case was dubbed by the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order as the longest trial in the history of kidnap-for-ransom cases in the country. A policeman by the name of Superintendent Eugenio Casalme was killed in 2001 by a Waray-Waray gang during a hold-up of a bus on route to Pampanga. He was one of the passengers at that time, and when the gang members noticed his police uniform, they shot him in the chest and neck. In 2002, the house of actor and future politician Sonny Parsons was burglarized by a Waray-Waray gang. They tied him and his own family in their house and almost raped his two daughters. The actor managed to trick the gang into thinking that patrolmen were roaming around the neighborhood, which would make their escape more difficult if they stayed longer. As the gang hastily retreated, Parson got off his bindings, grabbed a pistol and shot at the suspects as they were escaping, killing three of them.
In one of the bloodiest robberies in Philippine history, the “Waray-Abuyog Gang” shot and killed three policemen and a traffic enforcer on April 13, 2002. An unknown van parked itself in the vicinity of a community precinct in Meycauayan, Bulacan, in which a group of armed men wearing military uniforms came out. The gunmen started firing their assault rifles on the police station, killing some while wounding and scattering the others before escaping in their van. Investigators later found out that this was just a diversion. The robbers were actually robbing a large jewelry store in downtown Meycauayan, but they first attacked the precinct not only to take out the cops inside that might respond to the robbery, but also to lure the other policemen into this area while they escape with the loot. Many were killed and captured afterwards a month later.
In 2003–2004, Waray-Waray kidnap gangs started targeting prominent Chinese-Filipino businessmen in several kidnapping cases. Victims include businesswoman Dominga Chu, and Coca-Cola Export Corp. finance manager Betti Chua Sy. The latter died from her injuries while in custody of the gang. A 10-year-old named Martin Guevarra was also kidnapped by gang leader Arnel Suellen. Six more abductions took place, in which each of the families paid P2 million in ransom. At this time, the National Bureau of Investigation named them "the most active kidnap gang in the country", and even got to the point where President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo herself ordered a new crackdown after their series of kidnappings for ransom. Many of these gang members were from Jaro, Leyte. The same year also saw a gunfight between members of a Waray group known as the "Sudoy-Sudoy Gang", and the combined forces of the Central Police District and a Special Weapons And Tactics team. Five gang members were killed. They were responsible for a P9-million robery of an armored van robbery on April 5 at the SM City Annex on North EDSA in Quezon City.
In 2006, Noel Enacmal, leader of the Waray-Waray Kidnap For Ransom, was captured in Barangay Mali, San Mateo, Rizal. He and his group were responsible for the abduction of some 20 people and a string of armed robberies, such as the kidnapping of Betti Chua Sy and the P60,000 payroll robbery in Cubao, Quezon City.

Bloodiest years

2008 was the bloodiest year committed by the gangs. In Laguna Hills Subdivision, Rizal, three Waray-Waray gang members were killed in a shootout followed by three other more who were captured. This specific gang was notorious for highway robberies, extortion, “akyat-bahay” and the sale of illegal drugs. Additionally, six Waray gang members were killed in a confrontation with the police in Tondo, Manila. Two civilians were also killed in the shootout. In December of that year, a Waray-Waray gang fought the police in a running gun battle in a subdivision in Parañaque City that led to the deaths of 16 people. The police were tailing the criminals in a suburb when suddenly, the latter started firing M16 rifles fitted with grenade launchers. Twelve gang members, a Special Action Force personnel, a barangay tanod and two civilians including a 7-year-old girl, were killed. On the same year, two unidentified members of a Waray robbery gang were killed early morning in an encounter with policemen in Caloocan City. The unit who fought the gang was composed of NCR-CIDG, ISAFP, and Caloocan police. Chief Senior Supt. Isagani Nerez believed that the group was also involved in the recent gunbattle Parañaque, as well as an armored van robbery in the University of the Philippines.
In 2009, a Waray-Ozamiz gang robbed a Malaysian national named William Yeo, who owned a moneychanger shop in Ermita, Manila. Three of them were later captured by the police, and among the weapons recovered were two undocumented.45 caliber pistols, a.9mm Intratec machine pistol, M-16 Baby Armalite, two 12-gauge shotguns, three fragmentation grenades, six rifle grenades and two M203 40mm grenade launcher. In 2011, Parañaque City witnessed another shootout in a middle-class subdivision where three members of a Waray-Waray robbery gang and a policeman were killed. In 2013, two leaders of a Waray-Waray robbery group were captured by the NBI in the same city. They were responsible for a series of robberies of banks and moneychanger shops as well as murder. Another leader, Noli del Monti from Samar, escaped. On the same year, three members of the Ozamis-Waray-Waray group were killed during a shootout with law enforcement in a police checkpoint in Quezon City. Police said an intelligence report revealed that the three were planning to rob a pawnshop after a failed attempt to carry out an abduction.

New bill passed

By 2014 however, the government passed House Bill No. 3691 which made it illegal to name gangs after ethnicity, place or religion due to racism. However, the name and gangs of Waray ethnicity still persisted. In 2015 for example, Waray-Waray gang leader Jobert Española was murdered by unknown assailants in Binondo, Manila. He was once convicted of the killing of policeman SPO2 Nestor Dela Cruz. The year 2017 saw the individual capture of two Waray-Waray gang members in Caloocan and Valenzuela. This particular group had robbed two Indian nationals, and a Colt M1911 was recovered on one of them.

Philippine Drug War

In 2018, remnant Waray gangs were reported by Chief Supt. Edward Caranza as "gun-for-hire" that targeted local chief executives and potential political candidates. Six of them were killed in a shootout with the police in a buy-bust operation during the height of the Philippine Drug War, in Barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez town of Rizal. They were also involved in carnapping and robbery cases. One of the biggest drug hauls in the Visayas region happened separately on 2019. In August of that year, five large packs containing 9.71 kilograms of shabu were fished out of the waters off Biri, Northern Samar. Two months later, meth worth P600 million was found inside a van in Gandara, Samar, resulting in the arrest of six persons, including a 14-year-old boy and a woman pregnant at four months.
The largest and most infamous drug personalities in the Visayas, Kerwin Espinosa, had ties to criminal gangs in Tacloban City. He employed certain individuals from the city like narco-lawyer Rogelio Bato Jr. and hitman Jesus Tulin, both of whom were assassinated by unknown gunmen in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Other significant events during the drug war involving Waray criminals were the capture of a so-called "ninja-cop" in 2016 named PO3 Dennis Torrefiel, a member of the CIDG in Tacloban, and the death of drug pusher Menard De Leon in a buy-bust operation in Samar in 2019. In 2019, the PNP conducted 463 operations against illegal gambling that resulted in the arrest of 1,165 bettors in Eastern Visayas, many of whom were controlled by Waray gangs.

Ties to the Philippine Army

Some of the members of the Waray-Waray gangs were former or active soldiers of the Philippine Army, including Eliseo Barres, Alfredo Mondares and Army Cpl. Pelagio Royera. It even came to the point where the police started investigating whether the army and the gang had ties to each other due to the amount of high-caliber weapons and explosives recovered from these gangs. Most members however, were only thugs who had street training.

Legacy

The heyday of the Waray-Waray gangs gave birth to the negative stereotypical belief in the Philippines that the Waray people are a violent ethnic group compared to others. In an opinion column for a newspaper written in July 25, 2011, Prof. Gerry B. De Cadiz of the Eastern Visayas State University condemned the actions of the Waray-Waray gangs and their effect on the image of the Waray people. He stated, "Much to our embarrassment, being brave or mag-isog has been perceived by the nation to be associated with brutality, callousness and getting involved in criminality. So that the periodic broadcast in national networks and publication in widely-circulated broadsheets of the notorious activities of the so-called Waray-Waray Gang moulded an image so repulsive and damaging to the dignity of both prominent and ordinary Waray."
The popular ABS-CBN show aired an episode in December 2016 entitled "SOCO: Waray Abuyog Gang Strikes Terror in Meycauayan, Bulacan" that depicted the bloody shootout and heist in Meycauayan. The Paranaque shootout was featured in an episode of Case Unclosed entitled "The December Shootout". The 2000 action film Waray starring Gary Estrada, Daisy Reyes and Gino Antonio depicted a Waray-Waray gang. It told the story of a group of young Waray in South Manila who came to the city in search of a better life. The film depicted them as being daring and defiant who often rob to help the poor, creating themselves an image of modern-day Robin Hoods. On one faithful day, they made the mistake of kidnapping the daughter of a powerful politician who owned a private army, which led to shootouts and killings between the two parties.