PNP beefs up banks’ security

Anticipating a surge of bank robberies as the Christmas season draws nearer, Metro Manila police chief Director Edgar Aglipay ordered yesterday the beefing up by the Philippine National Police of security bank cluster areas in Metro Manila.

"We have began re-studying our bank protection program by determining the areas where these establishments are situated and rationalizing the deployment of our policemen," he said in a phone interview.

During the first two quarters of the year, there were no reported bank robberies in the metropolis.

But robbers struck at the branches of the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) in Quezon City on Sept. 22 and the Union Bank in Parañaque on Oct. 6, sending an alarmed Aglipay to enhance further the police cordon on banks.

Aglipay directed the five police district directors in Metro Manila to identify "bank clusters" in their respective areas and send more of their men to foil any attempt to rob banks.

Bank cluster areas, Aglipay explained, are those places where at least three or more banks are located, or, to be more specific, those situated within a 100 meter radius of each other.

The Metro Manila police chief said long firearms will be issued to policemen securing the banks. "The bank robbers are armed so we must also arm ourselves so that we could effectively fight them," said Aglipay.

Among the bank cluster areas Aglipay identified were Cubao, Commonwealth and Quezon Avenues in Quezon City; Rizal Avenue (Avenida), Taft and UN Avenues, and Chinatown district in Manila; Baclaran in Parañaque City, the commercial district in Makati City and Monumento in Caloocan City.

In the eastern part of the metropolis, Senior Superintendent Simeon Dizon Jr. named the areas as Shaw Boulevard and Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong City; Barangay San Roque in Marikina City; Barangay Kapasigan in Pasig City; F. Blumentritt, N. Domingo and Wilson streets in Greenhills, San Juan and the entire Ortigas Center.

According to Dizon, a mobile car will be assigned to patrol the bank cluster areas to compliment uniformed policemen conducting beat patrols. Policemen from the mobile division will be issued Armalite rifles for doing their rounds.