5 men rob Lapu-Lapu store, take P300T cash, jewelry

Five unidentified men robbed an establishment supplying softdrinks and beer in sitio Ceres in barangay Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City yesterday morning and ran off with an estimated P300,000 in cash and P100,000 worth of assorted jewelry from the owner.

Police said the establishment is owned by Lapu-Lapu City businessman Samson Go, who had entrusted its management to his daughter Mildred Go Cubillan.

It was not yet clear whether there were guards and other employees when the robbery took place but police said that right after the store opened for business, the five men arrived.

SPO1 Andres Gahi of the Theft and Robbery Section of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Station said Cubillan, thinking they were customers, welcomed the men who, in turn, suddenly drew out handguns, declared a holdup and demanded her to guide them to the cash register.

PO1 Alain Bandolon, also of the TRS, narrated that Cubillan hesitated in following the robbers’ demands and this drove one of them to hit her in the head with his pistol.

Cubillan was left without choice but to oblige to the demands of the robbers who eventually got the money they wanted. The money was the store’s sales proceeds from the past days. The robbers also demanded and got the pieces of jewelry owned by the family of Cubillan.

The robbers quickly got out of the store to their waiting companion, driving a taxi, and they sped off. The victim however failed to get the license plate number of the taxi.

TRS operatives are getting ready for a manhunt of the robbers, whose identities are now being determined through pictures from a rogues’ gallery showed to the victim. Artist’s sketches of the robbers are also being prepared. —Edwin Ian Melecio/RAE