Iloilo town police foil bank burglary

JANIUAY, ILOILO, Philippines — A working alarm system proved useful in foiling the robbery at Janiuay Rural Bank along Crispin Salazar Street in this town at around 3 a.m. Monday.

Police did not only frustrate the plan but also arrested one of the burglars, who was identified as Ryan Gallenero, 21, of Tigbi Tanglad, Alibhon, Guimaras but has been staying in Brgy. Jibolo, Janiuay after he got married.

Insp. Jigger Gimeno, Janiuay Police Station chief, said they were alerted after getting an alarm call from the bank. In less than three minutes, the police cordoned off the area,and saw square bars with hook and stones in front of the bank. The robbers seemingly tried to open the roll up door.

Police then heard a noise and, upon checking, saw Gallenero jumping off the cyclone area, the fence that separates the bank from the adjacent jeepney terminal. He was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun, which was the service firearm of the bank's security guard.

As he was caught, Gallenero reportedly admitted breaking in at the bank but insisted that he did it alone.

Gimeno however said they are looking at the possibility of three robbers. "Apparently, they were not organized. They have no idea how the bank security system worked but they knew the bank's layout," she said.

When the burglars arrived, they first disabled the closed circuit television (CCTV) in front of the bank's building but failed to enter the bank through the front door consisting of a roll-up door, steel bars, and sliding glass doors.

They went to the back of the establishment and managed to destroy the roll-up door's padlock, the steel bar and the sliding glass window. They then tried to open the ATM and the bank's vault but failed. — THE FREEMAN