The Alega Gang of Cebu

Talisay today unfortunately is sometimes associated with crime and drugs and that has been the case for many years but in the 1980s the crime reached a head and from this environment of crime and drugs a gang was formed. The Talisay of the 1980s was characterized by a boom in the economy, unfortunately the boom in the economy would lead to an increase in crime as income inequality started to rise and the NPA started taking root. The NPA had a tight hold on the mountain Barangays of Talisay like Tapul and Maghaway leading them to be NPA hotspots. The Alega gang though not part of the NPA were notorius in their crimes. Many feared them as they would strike like lightning and leave not leaving much for the police to track them with.

The first member of the Alega Gang was Ulyssey Alega, coming from labangon he was a victim of poverty and sought to find a way out… Through crime. Alega started out as upright man taking care of his father, he looked after his siblings and loved them, he wanted to be a good man with a normal life earning money by being a Jeepney driver but life would have other plans for him. His first encounter with the police would concern the extortion by the police at the time. The police at the time were involved in corruption and charged Jeepney drivers a protection fee called a Tong. Later Alega emerged as a local outlaw when he engaged members of the Tabunok police force in a shootout in the streets in 1983, he gave up his normal life to become an outlaw. Alega defended the honor of his sister when some drunks made some crude remarks to her taking them out, he also helped out his fellow drivers when a local crime boss named Logan was terrorizing drivers with not only the Tong charge but also a fee to get into the city, Alega engaged Logan and defeated him. The Alega gang shootout the windows of several barangay halls in this time. At this time some Talisay residents admired this man who killed the corrupt and gave justice for his peers, he was the bane of the police for years as from 1984 to 1986 he committed violent crimes but usually the crimes would involve some corrupt official or some gang boss.

The gang would grow larger with more and more members being added as outlaws and criminals joined his ranks. The Alega gang would become one of the most feared gangs in Cebu. But the authorities would catch up to them eventually on June 18, 1987 2 gang members were caught and killed in a shootout in Labangon which lasted for 2 hours. After this defeat the gang would stay strong but would slowly be eaten away by numerous police operations in 1988 3 more gang members would be killed and Angelo Alega the brother of Ulyssey would be arrested for illegal possession of fire arms. The Alega gang survived for almost a decade committing crimes with direction and magnitude their legacy would live on in the minds of Cebuanos as a movie would be made about their escapades called “Alega Gang Public Enemy No. 1”