Owners of vehicles used in Greenbelt robbery summoned

MANILA, Philippines - Police will invite for questioning the owners of three vehicles used by the Alvin Flores gang who staged the daring robbery at the Greenbelt 5 mall in Makati City on Sunday.

“We wanted to determine how the vehicles ended up in the hands of the robbers,” said Metro police chief Director Roberto Rosales in an interview. Rosales warned that he would not hesitate to file charges in court should evidence find the vehicle owners liable for “supporting” the operations of the Alvin Flores gang.

Initial reports gathered by the Southern Police District showed that the Alvin Flores gang used three vehicles during the robbery at the Rolex store located at the ground floor of the Greenbelt 5 mall.

They were a blue Honda Civic (WKM 262), a Toyota Corolla (XGR 613) and a blue Isuzu Big Horn (XND 586).

The Honda and a Toyota Corolla were used by the robbers and found abandoned in the corner of San Geronimo and Lapu-Lapu Streets in Magallanes Village while the Isuzu Big Horn was where the suspects transferred and made good their escape.

In his report to Rosales, SPD director Chief Superintendent Jaime Calungsud said verification with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) showed that the Toyota Corolla was registered under the ALCON Laboratories with office address at FLGI Bldg., Ortigas Ave., Greenhills, San Juan City. However, the recovered plate number was found attached to a blue Honda City Decktray model 2002.

Calungsud said the Honda Civic (WKM 262) is registered under the name of Ting Hok of No. 70 Circumferential Road, Araneta V1, Malabon City. The plate number is attached to a red metallic Toyota Corolla sedan model 2000. The Isuzu Big Horn, meanwhile, is registered in the name of Agustin Refugal of No. 015 San Vicente St., Payatas, Quezon City.

Rosales directed Calungsud to coordinate with the vehicle owners and determine how the three cars ended up in the hands of the suspects.

Though the NCRPO identified the slain robber as Armando Domingo, Rosales said they have no evidence as yet that he belonged to the Alvin Flores gang. As shown by the tapes of the surveillance camera of Greenbelt 5 mall, Flores, the leader of the gang himself, and a certain Waway, were identified as among the five men who entered the Rolex store.

Flores was listed by the Philippine National Police as among the top 20 bank robbers in the country. The PNP recommended a P500,000 reward for his capture. Calungsud also coordinated yesterday with the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) in Camp Crame to determine ownership of the M16 Armalite rifle and the Armscor .45 caliber pistol recovered from Domingo.

Domingo was one of those who entered the bank but was gunned down by SPO1 Cesar Tiglao and PO1 Efren Ceniza, of the Taguig City police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) who happened to be in the area at the time. Rosales said he is recommending before PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa the spot promotions of Tiglao and Ceniza.

Retraining for specialization

The PNP is pushing for the retraining for specialization of security guards to make them more capable and efficient in ensuring the safety of the public in the aftermath of the robbery at a store of expensive wristwatches in Greenbelt 5 in Makati City on Sunday.

Chief Superintendent Ireno Bacolod, director of the PNP Civil Security Group, said even before the robbery in Makati City, where the capability of security guards to protect civilians is being questioned, the PNP has been designing a program for specialization of security guards. “We are set to implement specialization courses for security guards, the program is several months in the making. Under the program, training of security guards detailed at malls will be different from the trainings of security guards to be assigned in schools, campus, airports, and seaports,” said Bacolod. “So we are trying to establish specialization for guards and not they are all around. He can’t be jack of all trades.”

He said each guard will be allowed to choose which particular areas he wants to be detailed. Police said no one among the 33 security guards tried to help police officers in fighting the robbers.