Police arrest one of the suspects who stole bag of Comelec chairman George Garcia

The Southern Police District has arrested one of the suspects who stole the bag of Comelec chairman George Garcia while he was at a restaurant.

In a Facebook post, the SPD said it had arrested a 44-year-old individual, identified as "Hazel," in Zapote in Las Piñas, through a follow-up and backtracking operation. She's detained at the Pasay City Police Station.

Hazel was positively identified through a closed-circuit television footage, according to the SPD.

It said the stolen bag containing Garcia's IDs and phone was recovered. The cash inside—reportedly amounting to P200,000—was no longer found.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Garcia noted that the group has been going in and out of prison for such a crime.

"Pare-parehas halos ang operandi, pare-parehas 'yung kaso na ipina-file sa kanila," he said.

Hazel said she thought Garcia was Chinese as she pointed out that their targets are typically foreigners.

"Ako po ay humihingi sa kanya ng sorry at hindi po namin siya nakilala," she said. "Akala po namin siya ay isang Chinese. Kung nakilala po namin siya agad, hindi po namin siya pagnanakawan."

The cases to be filed against Hazel have yet to be determined.

According to the SPD, Garcia was dining at a restaurant along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay on Aug. 19 at around 12:50 p.m. when six individuals posing as customers stole his bag placed beside his chair.

His bodyguards tried to chase the suspects but were unsuccessful. The suspects fled on board a silver Toyota Innova.

The SPD said the identities of the three suspects have been confirmed with the barangay, and they are known by the aliases Romson, Alberto, and Jun, who are all from Bacoor in Cavite.

Their group has reportedly been linked to past "Salisi Gang" incidents.

Authorities are tracking down the remaining suspects.