Bank robbers come up empty-handed

MANILA, Philippines - Robbers broke into a bank in Quezon City over the weekend but failed to steal anything, an official said yesterday.

Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said representatives from the bank in Barangay Anonas told police the  vault was intact and there were no items missing from the bank.

The break-in was discovered at 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Superintendent Richard Fiesta, commander of the QCPD Station 9, said the bank was closed at around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday without a guard posted there.

According to Marcelo, the robbers managed to enter the bank through the roof.

Fiesta said the representatives did not allow police investigators to enter the premises, citing bank protocol. Bank personnel, however, reported a broken pipe in the restroom.

Fiesta said policemen found six cartridges of a .38 caliber revolver, a screwdriver, a baton, a black pouch, fliers, a flash disk, a tire wrench, a hammer and a faucet in the parking area.