Coop officer with employees’ salary robbed

CEBU, Philippines - A multipurpose cooperative lost close to P300,000 in employees’ salary after a lone robber held at gunpoint its human resource officer along F. Llamas Street, Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.

Glenn Tabada, 36, HR officer of Dranix Multipurpose Cooperative, allegedly lost the money to an unidentified person wearing a ball cap and shades who pointed a gun at him.

Chief Inspector David Señor, chief of the Theft and Robbery Section of the Cebu City Police Office, said at around 3:30 p.m. yesterday, Tabada arrived in their office after withdrawing P280,443, which he put inside an envelope, for the employees’ salary payment.

However, after disembarking from his car and going inside the office, the robber allegedly followed him, pointed a gun at him and declared a holdup.

Other people were reportedly inside the office but were not able to help Tabada because of fear.

Señor said after taking the money, the robber simply walked away as if nothing happened. He said there might have been a cohort waiting outside.

Señor said he noticed the establishment does not have security guards and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

Police investigators are considering the possibility of an inside job. He said they borrowed the cellular phones of the employees to trace if any of them had contact with the robber.

Señor said CCTV cameras were installed in nearby establishments and they will try to find out if the robber was captured in any of the footage.

Robbed in Toledo

Meanwhile, a motorcycle driver was killed after he resisted two robbers who tried to take his vehicle to use as their getaway vehicle after robbing a rice trader along Rafols Street, Barangay Poblacion Toledo City Thursday night.

Amado Nacua, 45, of Poog, Toledo City, died instantly from a gunshot wound to his head while his passenger, Judith Alaban, 44, was slightly injured when the motorcycle fell.

Maria Wilfreda Macapobre, 62, rice trader, was about to enter her house when two unidentified persons riding a motorcycle pointed a gun at her and took away her P50,000.

PO1 Ricardo Vega, desk officer of Toledo City Police Station, said that after taking the money, the two robbers sped towards Barangay Sangi, Toledo City, onboard a motorcycle. But the robbers figured in an accident which also injured them.

The robbers flagged down the motorcycle driven by Nacua and asked him to alight but Nacua resisted. One of the robbers then shot Nacua.

Vega said that the police are still conducting a hot pursuit operation to locate the robbers. —  Bryner L. Diaz and Ma. Fatima R. Secuya/ATO(FREEMAN)