Miner, 2 others charged for moneychanger shop burglary

MANILA, Philippines - After they were arrested for yet another break-in in Bulacan, a miner and his two companions were identified and subsequently charged for a moneychanger shop burglary in Cubao, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said yesterday.

The suspects’ modus: parking a vehicle near a drainage hole, through which they would find their way into their targeted shop.

Albano said miner Rudy Tedkawen and farmers Salvador Tecgongan and Salvador Dagong were arrested while breaking into a pawnshop in San Ildefenso, Bulacan on June 11. 

Superintendent Ronnie Montejo, commander of the QCPD Station 7, said that following the suspects’ arrest, investigators brought a witness to a burglary at a moneychanger shop in Cubao that occurred in May.

The witness saw the same men in the vicinity of a manhole near Edsa that was believed to have been used by the suspects to enter the Emerald Money Changer shop, Montejo said.

The suspects stole P800,000 from the shop’s vault and three shotguns, Albano said.

Burglars’ modus

 Montejo noted that unlike in the incident in Cubao, where the suspects managed to flee, the three burglars were not as lucky in the Bulacan break-in.

Montejo cited that on the night of June 11, a security guard nearby noticed an Isuzu Trooper parked near a drainage hole on the road.

“This caused the guard to become suspicious, reporting to authorities his observation,” Montejo said in an interview.

At that time, the Trooper was manned by one of the three men, and the hole led the other two to a tunnel that went straight to the pawnshop.

“The vehicle was parked there apparently to conceal their activity. Ironically, that was what also led to their fall,” Montejo said. 

When police officers opened the shop, they found there the other two suspects in the act of burglarizing the establishment, Montejo said.

“Tedkawen’s being a miner apparently helped the suspects in staging their hits,” Montejo said.

QCPD deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao said the three arrested suspects were charged with robbery before the fiscal’s office in Quezon City.

Pagdilao said this was apart from a similar case filed against the three suspects in San Ildefonso, Bulacan.