Gunmen kill 1 in Taguig robbery try

An employee of a lending company was killed while three of her co-workers were hurt as gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in a failed robbery attempt at the Global City in Taguig the other night.

Police are looking into the possibility that the group responsible was the same one that pulled off the bank heist at the Citibank Center in Makati City last Monday.

Case investigator Police Officer 2 Ehron Balauat of the Taguig municipal police, said they are set to coordinate with the Makati City police to verify their suspicion.

In the Global City incident, Maribeth Bernalez, an encoder working for Esquire Lending Co. in Urdaneta Village, Makati City, died from a gunshot wound in the back. Her co-workers Ravi Ashok Uttamchandani, Pawan Mahtani, both naturalized Filipino citizens, and Pedro de Venecia sustained bullet wounds but are now out of danger.

Balauat said their initial investigation showed there were similarities in both the Taguig and Makati incidents, including the vehicles and firearms used. Recovered from the Taguig crime scene were empty shells from M-16 and M-14 rifles. According to witnesses said there was more than one vehicle following the victims.

Inspector Cleto Sariosa, head of the criminal investigation unit of Taguig, said the incident took place at around 9:22 p.m. near the Padre Burgos Circle inside Global City in Fort Bonifacio.

At 9:10 p.m., the victims left their office in Makati on board a blue Toyota Altis (XCB-675) driven by Uttamchandani.

Caught in heavy traffic, Uttamchandani decided to pass through the Global City to take the C-5 Road. Some 12 minutes later, a white Mitsubishi L300 van blocked the victims’ car at the Padre Burgos Circle.

As Uttamchandani tried to turn the car around, the suspects began firing. Bernalez, who was seated behind the driver, was hit in the back.

Uttamchandani was also hit but managed to step on the gas and leave the suspects behind. He only stopped the car when they reached 31st street on Rizal Drive, which was well lighted and crowded.

The three men alighted from the car and flagged down a taxi that brought them to the Makati Medical Center.

Senior Inspector Jimmy Mandario of the Global City police sub-station said the victims’ car had four bullet holes.

"When we checked the car, we noticed that there was a hole in the headrest of the driver’s seat. The driver must have ducked during the strafing and the bullet missed his head," Mandario said.

Poice went to the Makati Medical Center hoping to interview the three men, but they were only able to talk to De Venecia as the others were taken to the operating room. Bernalez was brought to the Army Hospital and later to the Ares Flor Funeral Parlor.

"De Venecia admitted his companions were carrying money. The suspects failed to get the money, the victims took it with them during the escape," Balauat said.