Frequency of robberies alarms Bangko Sentral

The spate of bank robberies in Cebu has alarmed officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that prompted them to advise bank managements to be on alert.

BSP Cebu regional office director Lorezo Zafico admitted that they are alarmed by the robbery incidents given the frequency that two major holdups in just eight days happened in Metro Cebu.

“It is alarming based on the frequency,” Zafico told dyLA.

Zafico said the robbery incidents here have already reached the attention of their Manila office which advised them to be on alert. Zafico likewise urged the local bankers to do the same.

Local bankers also expressed their worries over the present situation wherein members of the Bohol Robbery Group tagged by the police to be responsible in the major robbery incidents remain scot-free.

Ismael Carolino, vice president of the Federation of Rural Banks in Cebu, in an earlier interview admitted that the robberies in Metro Cebu alarmed them so much that they called an emergency meeting with the police officials.

Carolino said the federation is also expected to discuss the security problem during their membership meeting on August 28. Carolino said banks are supposed to have an alarm system, which is required of them by the BSP.

Zafico said that aside from the alarm system, another basic security guideline that the banks should observe is the use of time lock vault and tamper-free doors. The use of security camera, however, is an option that should be left at the discretion of the bank management.

The absence of the security camera at the Peninsula Bank was somehow questioned by the police aside from the laxity of its security measures. Mandaue City police director Alexander Abadinas said that a security camera would have helped them in the investigation.

Two alleged members of the Bohol Robbery Group, one of whom identified as Rodolfo Atega, robbed PenBank in Mandaue City last Monday carting away a still undetermined amount. —  Fred P. Languido/MEEV