Every time we get on a jeepney, bus or any other form of public transportation, the threat of getting pick-pocketed — or worse, robbed — is always very real.
The video uploaded to Facebook, which now has about 740,000 views, was taken after a jeepney robber in Antipolo City, just outside of Metro Manila, allegedly went after passenger Joshua Elizaga on Tuesday morning by grabbing his cell phone and pointing a gun to him.
While most of us would have (wisely) just let the robber have what he wants, Elizaga said he decided he wasn’t having any of it.
“This ‘George Boromeo’ was in the jeep when we were on the corner of Tanglaw Street and got my phone as he pointed a gun at me, for some reason, I didn’t feel scared and tried to grab the gun from him inside of the jeep,” Elizaga wrote on the caption of the video he uploaded in Filipino.
The incident happened at about 10am.
According to Elizaga, the robber pointed the gun at his stomach. And this is where the story gets truly insane. He allegedly pulled the trigger — twice.
Luckily for our hero, the gun malfunctioned. Unluckily for the robber, he’s not so tough without a weapon.
A witness, who did not want to be named, told Coconuts he was standing on the road when he saw the commotion. The witness, who also took the video he later sent to Elizaga, saw the moment Elizaga dragged the robber out of the jeep and pinned him to the ground. According to the witness, the gun fell out of the jeep during the struggle and was picked up by the jeepney barker, who can be seen holding the gun at the 1:09 mark of the video.
“I picked him up and threw him out of the jeep so other passengers wouldn’t get hurt, and that’s when I started giving it [punching] to him,” Elizaga said.
In the video, you can see the moment Elizaga pinned the robber to the ground, exposing his bloodied face to the bystander who took the video. “When I was beating him up, he yelled back at me ‘Stop it kuya (brother), that’s enough. I’ll stop. I’ll stop,” Elizaga told Coconuts Manila through a Facebook messenger interview.
The police came a few minutes after a crowd had gathered around the scene. By the time they arrived, they were a little confused as to who was the robber and who was the victim.
One of them initially grabbed Elizaga, thinking he was the suspect, but the witnesses pointed out to the cops that it was actually the guy on the ground with a bloody face who was pleading for his life.
Not that Elizaga is upset about it.
“Guys, don’t be mad at the police. I get that I was considered a suspect when the police arrived,” he said on his Facebook caption.
When asked if he took martial arts or boxing training, Elizaga said: “None. That was all instinct.”
He wouldn’t necessarily recommend, however, that everyone do what he did.
“It’s just really a miracle the gun didn’t go off. My mom died only three months ago, this robber wanted me to follow, but it didn’t work, because he ran into someone who could take him,” Elizaga said.
He had a message for the robber, who has apparently gotten away with several robberies in the area in the past: “You should be thankful that I have a fear of God and that was all I did to you, after you almost killed me. You will rot in jail.”
He added, “This guy has victimized students and other people who were helpless to fight back.”
One comment on his post seemed to confirm that the robber has done this before in the area.
“That’s the same guy who robbed our jeep last week. Poor person who was at the door, he just whispered to the person to give him the cell phone and the robber just got off the jeep like nothing happened. Good job! I salute you,” the comment said.
“There are a lot of bad people out there. Let’s all be aware of our surroundings and stay safe,” Elizaga wanted everyone who watched the video to know.
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