Jewelry taken during heist valued at P2M

CEBU, Philippines - Lapu-Lapu City Police Chief Senior Supt. Anthony Obenza yesterday said they invited more witnesses to shed light on the latest robbery where two managers of M. Lhuillier Pawnshop in Davao City were victimized by men in police uniforms last Wednesday morning.

This as the management of the pawnshop also said the jewelry taken during the robbery was valued at P2 million.

Obenza told reporters that aside from the testimony of taxi driver Eduardo Pabonita they also invited other witnesses.

 Bayani Atup, the lawyer of M. L. Lhuillier Pawnshop here, criticized Obenza for prematurely issuing a statement that it was possible the robbery was an inside job.

 Atup, in a radio interview, challenged Obenza to support his statements with evidence.

 Atup said that because of the statement of Obenza they are now planning to ask other law enforcement agencies to conduct a separate investigation, citing that he has prematurely pre-judged the case.

 Obenza welcomed the plan but said that it will be the top officials of the Police Regional Office-7 who will have the final say regarding this.

 He also said that the management failed to coordinate with them even after the agreement they made following the robbery incident last April. He said the police can introduce security measures without escorting them.

 But Atup said the M. Lhuillier management wants fewer people to know about transactions that involve big amounts of money.

The two managers of M. Lhuillier are Roberto Achura, a resident of Toledo City, Cebu, and John Arnel Desierto, of Barangay Sta. Lucia, Asturias town, Cebu.

Achura is the regional manager of M. Lhuillier Pawnshop in Davao City while Desierto is the area manager of the same firm. The two just arrived from Davao to bring pawned jewelry, placed inside two backpacks, to the main office of M. Lhuillier in Cebu City.

They were on board a cab driven by Pabonita, a resident of Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City, when they were stopped by the robbers who dressed as PDEA agents and claimed they were looking for drugs in the trunk of the cab.

Last April six armed men on motorcycles also stole jewelry worth P6 million from M. Lhuillier employees at the foot of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge. (FREEMAN)