2 hurt in Antipolo City bank robbery

Seven heavily armed men barged into the Banco de Oro branch in Antipolo City yesterday afternoon and carted off a still undetermined amount of cash.

While escaping, the bank robbers’ getaway vehicle was blocked by a passenger jeepney, prompting one of them to open fire, wounding two passengers, Rogelio Mayomita, 42, and Wilfredo Bukay, 56.

Mayomita was hit in the left hand, and Bukay in the right side of the body. They were rushed to the nearby Amang Rodriguez Medical Center in Marikina City.

An angry Chief Superintendent Lucas Managuelod, Southern Tagalog police director, threatened to relieve Rizal’s police director, Superintendent Luizo Troman, last night for his failure to immediately report the bank robbery.

Managuelod learned about the incident from mediamen who called him for details, via cellular phones, because Antipolo City policemen were busy conducting follow-up operations in Masinag, where the robbers were last seen.

Witnesses said four of the robbers, armed with Uzi machineguns and Armalite rifles, barged into the bank at 4:45 p.m. Three cohorts acted as lookouts outside the bank. Only bank employees were inside at the time of the heist.

Initial police reports said one of the guards tried to draw his service firearm, but froze when one of the robbers pointed a gun at him. The guard was disarmed and hit with an Armalite butt.

The bank heist took only 10 minutes.