Bulacan bank loses P1 M to robbers

PULILAN, Bulacan — A savings bank here lost about P1 million to suspected members of the so-called "Acetylene Gang" last weekend, police said.

Police investigator PO3 Gerry Navarro said security guard Rommel Salazar discovered the break-in at the Farmers Savings and Loan Bank in Barangay Cutcot when he reported to work Monday morning.

Navarro said the robbers gained entry to the bank by boring a hole through the concrete wall beside a commercial space.

Last April 29, three men rented the commercial space, claiming they wanted to put up a furniture shop there.

Bank manager Emilio Jacinto said the robbers carted away about P1 million in cash and other valuables from the vault.

Police found a jackhammer, an acetylene tank, and crowbars inside the bank and in the adjacent commercial space. — Dino Balabo