Bogo Mayor denies allegation: Tining linked to bank heist

A suspect arrested in connection with the August 2 robbery of a Landbank branch in Bogo yesterday tagged Mayor Celestino " Tining " Martinez III as the alleged brains and financier of the heist, an accusation he denied hours later.

Dindo Ancero, who arrived in Cebu early yesterday from Masbate where he was arrested along with two other men, told reporters that Martinez was both the alleged mastermind and the financier of the robbery, in which the bank lost at least P9.4 million.

Ancero also implicated Restituto Yee, the chief security officer of Martinez, identifying him as the one who allegedly feed the robbers for a month during the planning stage of the robbery, picking up the tab each time the gang ate at the Bogo Multipurpose Cooperative canteen owned by the municipal government.

Ancero said the gangleader, Joel Sumabong, who is still at large, was also a close-in security officer of the mayor.

The suspect said his only involvement in the crime was to act as the driver of the Nissan Vanette used in the robbery. Ancero said the van was owned by a former military man who was not part of the robbery but merely lent the vehicle to Sumabong.

Ancero did not make clear what the relationship was between Sumabong and the former military man, who is now into business. He did say the two men arrested with him in Masbate, where he tried to hide, were not involved in the robbery. He said they were simply friends whom he brought along.

Ancero said he decided to hide in Masbate on hearing reports that Martinez had allegedly placed a P1 million prize on his head to silence him. He did not say why he chose Masbate as the place to hide. Martinez is closely related to the Espinosas, the most powerful political clan in that province.

Martinez, in his hastily-called press conference, described the allegations by Ancero as " bogus and insane. "

The youthful mayor, who admitted being groomed to replace his mother Clavel, a last-termer member of the House of Representatives, denied knowing Ancero and Sumabong, insisting he never hired " goons " since the start of his foray into politics.

Bogo has long been the turf of the Martinezes, and in the 2004 elections, the mayor ran without an opponent.

Martinez said he never brings bodyguards when he goes around, except during fiestas when he requests for two police details. He, however, admitted that Yee was his chief security officer and brought him along for the press conference.

The mayor said he is beginning to suspect politics has something to do with the allegations.

" I would not want to look at the scenario as having something to do with politics. But it is leading there, " he said.

Martinez said he could not understand the rationale behind the allegations, saying that as mayor, he would not do anything to smear the image of the town, one of Cebu's biggest and most progressive, with an eye to eventual cityhood.

He admitted the robbery greatly affected the town's economic security.

Yee denied any hand in the robbery at whatever stage but admitted knowing Sumabong, explaining that both of them come from the same place in Bogo.

Yee also admitted having treated Sumabong and his family to lunch at the cooperative canteen sometime before the robbery took place.

Yee said Sumabong never had any criminal record in Bogo and was even given a police clearance in connection with an application for a job at the municipal government. Despite the help of Yee, the job never materialized.

Martinez said Ancero should be made to undergo a lie detector test, preferably with the NBI.

He said that while he is not questioning the credibility of the provincial police in administering the test, he just is not comfortable with the fact that the provincial police director is an appointee of the governor, who beat his father in the 2004 elections.

" This is one of the trials and I believe that the truth will always set you free, " Martinez said of the allegations.