P150T taken in early morning heist, two robbers hit pawnshop

CEBU, Philippines - Two armed men robbed early morning yesterday a money remittance outlet along A. Soriano St., Barangay Mabolo  and ran away with some P150,000 cash and gadgets.

Employees of Palawan Express Pera Padala just opened the establishment, which is just a stone’s throw away from the Mabolo Police Station, when two men reportedly went inside and declared a hold-up at around 8 a.m.

Cashier Grace Flores said they just opened the roll up and entered the establishment with customer Aster Nebasa when two men, whom they thought were also customers, also went inside.

Also present were the outlet’s branch manager Ilyn Rose Cabugnasan and another cashier, Jovan Angot.

Then, the two men, who were armed with revolvers, declared a hold-up while pointing their guns at them.

One of the robbers ordered them to lie down while the other one proceeded to the cashier’s area and took all the cash from the drawer.

The robbers, who didn’t bother concealing their faces, also carted away the company’s cellular phone worth P5,000; a laptop; Cabugnasan’s three cellular phones and wallet containing P400 cash and the wallets of the other victims.

Then, they casually went out of the establishment and took a red Yamaha motorcycle driven by their cohort who also acted as the lookout.

They fled towards Mandaue City area. The driver wore a red helmet and a red jacket.

Insp. William Alicaba, chief of the Theft and Robbery Section, said the robbers passed by City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) enforcer Emmanuel Gelig, who was manning the traffic near the area.

Gelig even called the attention of the three as their motorcycle was overloaded but he was ignored and the three sped off.

Gelig said he failed to get the motorcycle’s plate number as the markings were hard to read.

The Palawan employees reported the incident to Mabolo Police Station but they failed to catch up with the robbers.

Mayor Michael Rama said the robbery was an insult to the police because of the  establishment’s proximity to a police station.

Rama, chairman of the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC), challenged the policemen under Senior Supt. Mariano Natu-el to arrest the robbers.

Alicaba said they will invite the victims for the possible identification of the robbers.

But yesterday, they said they did not remember the faces of the robbers as they were ordered to lie down immediately after they declared a hold-up.

Alicaba said they will also invite the male vendor who was attending to his stall right outside the establishment.

The vendor said he saw the three men loitering in the area for about 20 minutes before the robbery, apparently waiting for the establishment to open.

The two robbers were about 5’5” to 5’6” tall and dark-skinned.

Natu-el and Alicaba suspected that the robbers were “local boys” who just took advantage of the fact that the establishment has no security guard and security camera.

Alicaba added that being a financial establishment, the owners should have invested on hiring a security guard and installing a closed circuit television.

“In terms of security, poor gyud. Grabe. Anybody could just enter the establishment. Kumpiyansa ra kaayo sila,” Alicaba said.

Natu-el lamented that the employees were uncooperative in the investigation and also criticized the establishment for their lax security.

“Di na lang sa ingon insult para sa kapulisan, kundi kumpiyansa sad sila sa ilang part. They’re supposedly required na magbutang og security guard and mag-install og security camera,” Natu-el said.

Natu-el added that the establishment might have been relying on the police station nearby.

But he explained that the police could not guard all establishments all the time and it is the management’s responsibility to secure their respective businesses.

The mayor also criticized the management for its failure to provide even one security guard and install CCTV cameras outside and inside the establishment.

The Cebu City Council had tried to enact an ordinance that requires all financial establishments to install CCTV cameras but it was not approved because some businessmen said they could not afford it.

A set of CCTV cameras costs between P25,000 to P30,000. /MBG (FREEMAN)