Company driver killed in P.3-M heist

MANILA, Philippines - Police are hunting down two motorcycle-riding robbers who shot dead a company driver in Valenzuela City Thursday afternoon.

The Valenzuela City police, in a report reaching the Northern Police District headquarters yesterday, said Reynaldo Almario, 52, driver of Asia United Oil Industry, died on the way to Valenzuela District Hospital due to a bullet wound from a .45 caliber pistol.

The victim was with administration officer Jessica Santillan, 42, in the firm’s Mitsubishi Montero (NOM-253) when robbers riding tandem on a motorcycle waylaid them along Maysan Road at around 1:30 p.m.

Santillan had just withdrawn the money from a bank in Barangay Paso de Blas and was on the way to another bank in Barangay Karuhatan when the incident happened.

One of the robbers shot the Montero’s left front tire, forcing Almario to stop. At gunpoint, the robber ordered Almario to open the car door and Santillan to hand him the bag that contained P500,000.

When the gunman got hold of the bag, he shot Almario before speeding away. But as the robbers fled, some of the money fell from the bag.

Bystander Fritz de la Peña, who witnessed the robbery and picked up the cash amounting to P199,000, turned over the money to the local police officers.

Valenzuela City police chief Senior Superintendent Eric Reyes said yesterday that they have identified one of the two robbers and his men are tracking them down.