Manhunt on for Jollibee robbers

The Pasig City police launched a manhunt yesterday for two robbery groups that pulled off separate heists at a Jollibee branch and a grocery store in Pasig City last Sunday.

Pasig City police chief Superintendent John Sosito said they have "good leads" on the robbery at the Jollibee branch after three of the suspects were identified by witnesses after being shown police photos.

However, Sosito admitted they have yet to get a break in the case involving the robbery at the Gem’s mini-grocery, where a security guard was killed.

He did not say where he dispatched his men but he expressed hope that the suspects would be arrested in due time.

"We have good leads. My men are working feverishly for the arrest of the suspects," Sosito said in an interview.

Initial investigation showed that the three suspects which staged the robbery at the Jollibee branch at the corner of Amang Rodriguez Avenue and Calle Industria in Barangay Manggahan frequented the place prior to the heist.

"When presented pictures, the employees identified three of the suspects as among their customers days prior to the robbery," said Sosito, noting that the suspects became close while serving light sentences in jail.

The three were among 10 armed men who cleaned out the Jollibee’s cash registers and customers of P250,000 cash and personal belongings. They escaped on board a green Besta van (XCL 172).

Less than five hours later, another set of robbers shot dead security guard Danilo Asman and took his firearm before grabbing the P10,000 earnings of the Gem’s mini-grocery located at the corner of Oranbo Drive and Shaw Boulevard in Barangay Oranbo.

The robbers also carted away packs of pre-paid phone cards before fleeing on board a white van with no license plates.

Police are still determining whether the twin robberies were pulled off by remnants of the "Resto Gang," which had been blamed for the rash of robberies in restaurants patronized by wealthy Filipino and Chinese businessmen in Metro Manila. – Non Alquitran