SMC Valenzuela robbed

The San Miguel Corp. (SMC) branch in Valenzuela City lost around P1.5 million to two unidentified armed men who robbed the firm with ease and literally walked away with their loot unmolested Saturday afternoon.

Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Urena, Valenzuela City police chief, in his report to Northern Police District (NPD) director Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, said the robbery at SMC branch along McArthur Highway, went on unnoticed even by the firm’s two armed guards.

Urena said that at about 6:50 p.m. Saturday, his men received information that the SMC cashier identified as Jonathan Alvarado was held up by two men armed with handguns at about 5:30 p.m.

The suspects reportedly passed themselves off as customers and entered the firm’s premises passing through the main gate manned by security guards Edmon Fedelin and Rico Mangubat, both of Organic Detective and Security Agency.

The suspects reportedly went directly to Alvarado’s office and at gunpoint divested him of the cash.

The security guards, however, failed to notice the two armed men who again passed the same gate and casually walked away with their loot.

Urena said that Alvarado only notified the guards about the robbery 30 minutes later. The police are still investigating what took the cashier too long before he informed the guards of the incident and why the guards failed to detect the robbers. – Pete Laude