Armed men rob bank branch in Quezon City

Two branches of the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank), located in the same building, were robbed by heavily armed men in Cubao, Quezon City before noon yesterday.

Bank officials refused to say how much money were taken by the robbers pending an inventory.

After being told how the robbery happened, Central Police District director Chief Superintendent Victor Luga theorized that the armed men could be members of the Paracale Gang.

"Judging from the way they moved and their style, this is the style of the Paracale Gang," Luga said.

Witnesses said the robbers were wearing bonnets to hide their faces.

Investigators said the robbers entered Victoria Hills and San Juan branches of Metrobank, both located on the ground floor of the Victoria Hills Towers at the corner of Doña Juliana and D. Domingo Streets in Cubao.

The Metrobank San Juan branch is temporarily housed in its Victoria Hills office for some time now after the San Juan office was razed by a fire, police said.

The incident -- the first bank robbery in Quezon City this year-- was recorded at the 11:20 a.m. However, bank officials reportedly flashed an alarm to the police 20 minutes after the heist.

Senior Police Officer 4 Rogelio Yalung, of the Criminal Investigation Unit, said the robbers failed to open the cash vault because it was armed with a time-delay lock. But they scooped all the money from the cash register machines and took away the personal belongings of Edna Abias, 23, a bank teller.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila Police director Chief Superintendent Edgardo Aglipay gave Cubao station commander Superintendent Jonas Garcia one week to solve the robbery. --