‘Resto Gang’ strikes again

President Arroyo’s tack of parading criminals to scare and humiliate them does not seem to have worked on this gang.

Ten armed men staged a daring robbery at the Jollibee outlet at the corner of Amang Rodriguez and Calle Industria streets in Pasig City early Sunday night, and escaped with some P250,000 in cash and valuables from the store and its customers.

The incident drew the ire of Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco, who said the Pasig City police absorbed a "double whammy" because, a few hours after the Jollibee robbery, another group robbed a grocery of some P10,000 and killed a security guard.

"I want these bandits arrested. We cannot afford to have them running around and continue terrorizing the public," Velasco said as he ordered a no-letup operation against the two gangs and directed the five Metro Manila police districts to heighten preparedness against robbery groups in their jurisdictions.

The Jollibee robbery came two weeks after Mrs. Arroyo paraded in public five "Resto robbery gang" members who were charged for the heists at the Mann Hann restaurant and the Port Area Grille in San Juan, and a Chinese restaurant in Quezon City.

Police said the modus operandi of the restaurant robberies appear to be the same.

Pasig City police chief Superintendent John Sosito said the 10 robbers arrived at the Jollibee outlet on board a white Toyota Hi-Ace van without license plates.

Without a word, the perpetrators disarmed the store’s two security guards at gunpoint, barged inside and announced the holdup.

One of the armed men proceeded immediately to the cashier who was forced to hand over their P50,000 earnings. Others tried to open the store vault but failed while their cohorts divested the branch’s 30 customers of an estimated P200,000 worth of cash and valuables.

Sosito said the perpetrators than boarded a gray Kia Besta van, with licese plates XCL-172, and escaped toward Quezon City.

According to Sosito, lawmen have already identified three of the Jollibee branch robbers through photographs at the police rogues’ gallery and Jollibee employees said the perpetrators were seen eating inside the establishment prior to the heist.

Sosito said a team, headed by Inspector Rodante Arcigal, was ordered to go after the gang.

But five hours later, another group of robbers held up Gem’s grocery at the corner of Oranbo Drive and Shaw Boulevard, killed security guard Danilo Asman, 28, and fled with P10,000.

Police are still trying to establish if the three members of the "Resto robbery gang," who are still at large, were behind either of the two robberies.

The two robberies overshadowed the arrest of Sosito’s men of three motorcycle-riding suspects believed to be behind the rash of robberies at gasoline stations and other establishments also in Pasig City.

Arrested were Ranel Vallega, 23, alias Nonong; William Vallega, 23; and Oliver Avenido, 22, alias Ver, who were positively identified by Magdalena Gidoc, an employee of the Flying V gasoline station that the three robbed of P1,800 on Aug. 15.