POLICE killed five still unidentified members of a Cordillera based carjacking group in an encounter on Sunday in a remote village in Gerona, Tarlac province, police reports said on Monday.

Reports reaching the Philippine National Police operations center in Camp Crame said that the encounter between lawmen and carjackers occurred at about 4 a.m. on Sunday at a farm in Brgy. Danzo, Gerona, Tarlac.

The encounter took place after Baguio City police office sent out a flash alarm to all nearby police stations over a reported carjacking perpetrated by five suspects in the city.

The flash alarm warned police about the five carjackers who took on Saturday a Toyota Innova Van (NDO-933) driven by a certain Roldan Ymson, 67, and fled toward south.

At dawn on Sunday Municipal Police station in Gerona received reports of suspicious looking men who had reportedly forced open the gates of a farm in Brgy. Danzo.

P/chief Supt. Ponciano Zafra of Gerona, dispatched a police team to Brgy. Danzo to check and verify the reported presence of suspicious looking armed men in the said farm, the reports said.

Instead of yielding the police, the suspects opened fire triggering a brief exchange of shots that resulted in killing of the five suspects, four male and one female.

Zafra said in the reports that investigation is now underway to determine the identities and affiliation of the five slain suspects who were all believed to be natives of Kalinga province.

Gerona police recovered from the slain two .45 pistols; two .38 revolvers and an MK2 fragmentation grenade that the suspects tried to detonate.