Another group eyed in QC bank heist

MANILA, Philippines - After naming one robbery gang as the one behind Friday’s bank heist along Commonwealth Avenue, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) is also looking into the possibility that another group was involved, an official said yesterday.

“Only two groups could have perpetrated this type of robbery,” QCPD director Chief Superintendent George Regis said in an interview.

He cited the similarities between the Ozamis group, allegedly led by Diosdado Nobleza Alferez, and the Parohinog gang, reportedly headed by Raul Cortez.

The two gangs are reportedly at odds with each other but it was possible the members of one group could have joined forces with their rival group for material gain, said Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.

Last Friday’s heist was perpetrated by 21 robbers, based on a police count. They were able to take a still undetermined amount of cash from the bank’s tellers.

Also yesterday, Regis revealed that authorities had been warned a few months ago of a possible bank robbery in Metro Manila. He said he cannot divulge the details of the tip, which he received when he was still holding another post.

The Commonwealth Avenue robbery is the seventh in the country this year. The first six were in Regions 4A, 5, 6, 10 (where two incidents occurred) and 11.

”The assessment of the JABRAC (Joint Anti-Bank Robbery Advisory Council) was (the next one will be) in Mindanao,” Regis said, citing analysis after the first six robberies. “Obviously another bank robbery will be perpetrated.”

With this, police authorities have been told go on “target hardening” measures. The QCPD will deploy its SWAT teams along Commonwealth and Quezon Avenues and other busy areas like Kamuning and Cubao.

Meanwhile, a check with registration records showed that the license plates attached to two of the vehicles used by the robbers were originally assigned to different vehicles.

The plate number XLV-583 attached to the suspects’ blue Toyota Revo was originally assigned to a brown Revo of Ryan Jabel Sepulveda in Misamis Occidental.

The plate number USR-753 seen on the red Mitsubishi L300 was originally for a Mitsubishi Canter owned by Angelica Ganjuanco in Las Piñas City.