Robbers getting more daring: Moneychanger, firm lose P.5M
Robbers are getting more daring these days and are hitting pay dirt in the process.
A group of three men held up a money-changer inside a mall on Friday night and made off with more than P400,000 in foreign currencies.
That very same night, an undetermined number of burglars broke into the office of a construction firm near Camp Sergio Osmena Sr., the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police, and emerged undetected, some P50,000 richer.
All in all, the criminals took more than half-a-million pesos for a single night’s job.
However, the police is optimistic that they can catch the robbers involved in the money-changer holdup after they were quickly identified by witness from the police rogues gallery.
Senior Inspector Michael Anthony Bastes, the head of the Cebu City Theft and Robbery Section, said the holduppers have previously been involved in other criminal activities and Cebu City police chief Senior Superintendent Patrocinio Comendador said charges may be filed against them within the week, even as a manhunt is still underway to hunt them down.
Police, however, are still clueless as to who broke into the office of Patrila Builders, the construction firm near the police regional headquarters.
Ivan dela Cruz, the officer-in-charge of the construction firm, reported to the police that when they opened the office for regular business yesterday, they discovered that the establishment had been broken into.
The burglars gained entry by prying the front door open with some instrument.
A check with the police for developments showed they are still following up the case.
In the money-changer robbery, three men held up employees Gliceria Tigley Sabuari and Elgin Roxas Natad of the X-Change Moneychanger, which is located inside a mall, as they left the stall after just closing it.
Bastes, quoting the accounts of the two employees, said they were about to go to the second floor to deposit the money when two men with handguns held them up.
Sabuari, who was carrying the black bag containing the money, froze in his tracks and could not do anything to resist. One of the robbers grabbed the bag and calmly walked out of the nearest exit.
According to the police, there were still people in the nearby pubs and coffee shops but the action happened so fast many did not notice.
A lone guard at the entrance, whom police identified as Felipe Escobido Mendez, was about to react when the third robber, who apparently posted himself nearby, poked a gun on his side and divested him of his service firearm.
By the time Mendez managed to alert the other guards, the robbers have already made good their escape on board two motorcycles parked just outside the mall entrance.
Bastes said despite the identification of the suspects by witnesses from the police rogues gallery, they will still need to crosscheck with the mall security cameras if something more can be picked up.
Ver dela Cerna, assistant vice president and head of corporate communications and customer affairs of Cebu Holdings Inc., the operator of
“ We trust the police pursuit of the suspects who were identified not only by witnesses but more clearly by cameras in the area. We are sure that the culprits will be brought to justice in due time in the interest of the affected merchant and our mall customers, ” dela Cerna said.
Comendador said he warned the business community a month ago about the possibility of heightened incidences of robberies but it appears robbers are managing to outwit both the police and business security preparations.
Police are puzzled why the robbers managed to slip through security with guns, but Comendador theorized that long hours of being on duty may have forced guards to succumb to fatigue.
“ In spite of security preparations, it is still possible to slip through because those with criminal motives are observant and would study patterns. Besides, the guards would be suffering from fatigue after long hours of being on duty, “ Comendador said.
According to Bastes, the pictures of the suspects matched the faces of several men seen drinking in one of the bars the night before the robbery, the same faces that witnesses saw at the time of the robbery itself. ( with Princess Mondejar, CNU Intern/JST )
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