Superintendent Jose Gentiles, Mandaluyong City police chief, is eyeing an inside job in the robbery as the suspects appeared to have known every move of the victim, Pilar Pena, 31, of 614 Lee st., Barangay Wack-Wack.
"They were very accurate and knew who their target was, where she was headed and that she was carrying a large amount of money," said Gentiles in a telephone interview.
Pena was on her way to a bank branch along Shaw Blvd. when the brown envelope she was carrying, containing the checks and cash, was snatched by the three suspects riding on a motorcycle along Lee st., at about 1 p.m.
Laborers from a nearby construction site who witnessed the robbery, rushed to help Pena but were prevented from coming near when one of the three suspects pulled out a caliber .45 automatic pistol and pointed it at them.
Gentiles’ men arrived at the scene some 10 minutes late. They accompanied Pena to the police station to file a complaint.
Pena called up her bank and advised management to cancel payment on the stolen checks.
Gentiles said it was the first time the motorcycle-riding men struck in the city during his three-month term. They are still investigating whether the motorcycle-riding robbers were the same ones who robbed bank depositors in the past in Mandaluyong City. – Non Alquitran