Cops seek tougher laws vs robbers

Parañaque City police chief Superintendent Ronald Estilles scored the country’s laws yesterday, describing them as too soft on robbery groups.

He pointed out that in the Philippines, anyone can rob a bank everyday and still walk away from jail by simply posting bail – paying only 10 or 20 percent of the amount recommended by the government prosecutor – for as long as no one gets killed or raped in the process.

Robbers can still post bail even if they seriously injure people while committing the crime, he added.

“You give them the chance to rob again. After a month, there they are again. They won’t change. That’s why they are not afraid,” Estilles told The STAR.

He added that he has “even spoken with some criminals and they say that their instructions include not to kill because they know the law.”

Estilles said the law should be amended in such a way that if a robbery suspect inflicts injury while committing a crime, particularly in collusion with two or more people, bail should be denied or at least be sky-high.

“If you rob a bank and get P500,000, the bail should be that amount or twice that. There is also a surety bond that allows you to pay only 20 percent, or P40,000, of a P200,000 recommended bail. You can bargain it down to P20,000,” he said, believing that the country’s current laws favor robbers and make it easy for them to make a living out of it.

Estilles voiced these sentiments after known members of a robbery syndicate called the Ampang Colangco Group staged another daring robbery in his locality last Tuesday.

They robbed former business executive Carmen Talosig minutes after she withdrew $9,000 and P30,000 from a Metrobank branch in Kabihasnan, Barangay San Dionisio.

The suspects, who fled the scene using a red Honda XRM motorcycle, were later identified as Bobby Baliber, a native of Samar; Alah Jalayjalay, a native of Bacoor, Cavite; and Noel Corpuz, alias “Yoyot.”

Estilles said the suspects have been repeatedly arrested for big-time robberies in the past yet always manage to walk away after posting bail.

Records reveal that Baliber was involved in a June 2007 armored van heist, also in Paranaque, where two security guards and five others were injured.

All three are said to be involved in past bank robberies at the SM South Mall in Las Piñas and SM City in North Edsa, Quezon City since they belong to one of the largest robbery gangs operating in Central and Southern Luzon.

According to Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Section 9 of Republic Act 7659, robbers can only be denied bail if the crime results in or is coupled with homicide, rape, intentional mutilation, or arson.

Without these specific circumstances, robbers can walk away from jail for as low as P180,000 even if the crime results in serious physical injuries that render the victim insane, imbecile, impotent, or blind.

Frustrated and attempted robberies, based on current laws, are also bailable in amounts ranging from P6,000 to P150,000 depending on the amount involved and the circumstances surrounding the criminal act.

Estilles, in a statement after last Tuesday’s robbery, expressed disappointment since robbers can still pay for their temporary liberty yet a person caught with a few grams of an illegal drug can no longer post bail.

Banks beware

The Philippine National Police (PNP) called yesterday on all bank managements to be wary of people posing as depositors to get information on their prospective victims.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome issued the call a day after Tuesday’s robbery.

“Bank security should be strict, they should monitor who goes in but does not make any bank transactions. They might be the ones tipping off robbers on which people withdraw large amounts of money,” Bartolome told The STAR.

Almost all banks order their customers to turn off their cell phones while inside the bank to ensure that the bank transaction will not be relayed to other people outside the premises.

Bartolome, however, said that while depositors are not allowed to use cellular phones, bank employees could use their mobile phone at their convenience. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe