QC cops solve PNB bank heist

The Maundy Thursday robbery at the Philippine National Bank (PNB) Cash Center in Quezon City is now considered a closed case by authorities following the arrest of the two remaining suspects in a follow-up operation conducted by operatives of the Central Police District-Criminal Investigation Unit the other day.

Senior Superintendent Procopio Lipana, chief of the CPD-CIU, identified the suspects as Armando Arano, 36, of Area VI, Besang Pass, Holy Spirit in Quezon City and Roberto Perez, 33, of Pagrai Hills, Mayamot, Antipolo City. The two were armored van security escorts of the PNB.

They were presented to the media yesterday at the office of CPD director Chief Superintendent Napoleon Castro in Camp Karingal, Sikatuna Village. Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. was also present during the press conference.

Recovered from the suspects were two black bags containing P455,960 in cash. Total cash recovered, including those from the three suspects arrested earlier, now totals P1.23 million.

Investigators said the remaining task now would be to try and recover the rest of the loot, estimated at P4.2 million. Police said that based on the latest inventory, the bank lost a total of P5.4 million in the robbery.

Last Tuesday afternoon, lawmen arrested Nelson Espina, Manuel Pasco and his wife Lilibeth at their home in Barangay Krus na Ligas in Quezon City. Police recovered around P776,000 of the loot.

CPD-CIU operatives, led by Lipana, went as far as San Carlos City in Pangasinan to recover the money that was kept in a pit dug up by Pasco himself. The cash recovered from the Pascos and Espina were placed inside a bag and a tin container.

Espina and Pasco were security guards of the PNB. Espina was the on-duty guard on the night of Maundy Thursday while Pasco was the guard assigned to secure the vault, which the suspects forcibly opened to get to the cash, police said.

The three were arrested based on information gathered from witnesses in the area.

Lipana noted that the suspects took about four hours to open the vault, using a crowbar and chisel. Once they got to the cash, they divided the money into equal shares before leaving the bank.

Pasco denied involvement in the robbery, but police said witnesses saw him and his wife inside a white sedan that arrived minutes after two men entered the bank through the main door to pick up the other suspects.

Investigators likewise noted that the iron grill of the window was sawed off from the inside, pointing to an inside job.

"This is an amateurish job, but what makes it really bad is that people who are supposed to protect us are the ones committing crimes," Belmonte said.

Lipana said the money recovered will not be turned over to the PNB just yet as it will be used as evidence against the suspects in court.

All five suspects are detained at the CPD-CIU in Camp Karingal and will be charged with robbery.