LBC-Taboan robbed of P42K

CEBU, Philippines - Two unidentified persons wearing ball caps and yellow shirts robbed an LBC outlet in Barangay San Nicolas Proper, Cebu City past noon yesterday.

It came three days after LBC’s Highway Tabok, Mandaue City outlet was robbed by two motorcycle-riding men who took away P5,000 from the establishment last March 7.

In yesterday’s incident, the two men, who were armed with .38 revolvers, took less than three minutes in taking a total of P42, 342 during the robbery, which was captured the cargo forwarder’s closed circuit television camera.

Teller Danessa Safra told reporters she was attending to two customers around 12:42 p.m. when a man with a leather bag came in. She described the person as having a medium build and wore a ball cap, a yellow shirt, and a pair of sunglasses.

Safra said the man, who at first pretended to queue, pulled out a revolver from insider his bag and pointed it to male customer Reynaldo Pagadoan, 45, who was trying to mail some documents.

In an interview, Pagadoan said he was ordered to face against the wall together with the other customer, Girly Caballero, 42.

Pagadoan said he asked the man not to take their belongings but was instead told to keep quiet and not to look at him.

Pagadoan and Caballero were pushed towards a corner near a cubicle before the second robber came in and immediately went inside the teller’s area and sat on Safra’s chair.

“Giingnan ko pasok diha ug ayaw og lingi. Nahadlok lang pud labi na nga giti-onan ko sa pistol (I was told to stay put and not turn my head. I got afraid because he pointed the gun at me),” said Pagadoan.

Safra was then ordered to put inside the leather bag the outlet’s proceeds that day, while the second robber, who was also wearing a yellow jacket with a hood, ordered her to open the vault and put the money there in the same bag.

After the robbery, the two men casually walked out of the establishment as if nothing happened and used a motorcycle in fleeing.

It took some time for the victims to react and inform nearby Taboan Police Station, which is just around one kilometer away.

Sr. Insp. Chuck Barandog, San Nicolas Police Station chief, said in a separate interview that the robbery was done when the policeman assigned to keep watch on the area was having his lunch.

He said even the security guards of the nearest establishment failed to notice the robbery and did not do anything.

Barandog also said that while the branch has a CCTV camera, it was an easy target due to the lack of security personnel.

The same was true also for the LBC Highway Tabok branch, which likewise has a CCTV but has no security guard. The robbers also wore full-face helmets in barging in, preventing the camera from capturing their faces

Barandog said he had asked for a copy of the CCTV footage but Safra reportedly told him that she needed to get the manager’s approval first.

He suspected that local boys perpetrated the robbery incident considering that they seem to be very familiar with the establishment in executing the robbery.

 He said they had visited the establishment last month and advised it to improve its security system due to the lack of a security guard and a lock system.

“We admit of our lapses, especially that the area is vulnerable. We will innovate and make a new deployment plan,” said Barandog, adding that the perpetrators were likely different from those who victimized the LBC branch in Mandaue City last Friday.

“Mas aggressive man to ang sa Mandaue compared atong sa Taboan na igo ra sila nanion. Sa Mandaue kay nagpabuto man (The Mandaue robbers were more aggressive. The ones inTaboan simply pointed their guns, while those in Mandaue immediately fired a shot),” Barandog said.

As of press time, San Nicolas police were conducting follow-up operations to establish the identities of the two men.  (FREEMAN)