‘Waray’ splinter group tagged in bank heist

Northern Police District (NPD) officials yesterday tagged a splinter group of the Waray-Waray Gang as responsible for a P1-million heist on a rural bank in Caloocan City.

NPD director Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil revealed the information even as he ordered a dragnet against four suspects, one of them a young woman.

The NPD chief said that based on existing records and intelligence reports, the group that robbed the Rural Bank of Caloocan (RBC) on Mabini street last Thursday at around 10:45 a.m. belonged to a breakaway group of the Waray-Waray identified as the Ampang-Colangco Group.

Senior Inspector Jesse de la Rosa, Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) team leader, who processed the crime scene, also recovered the 12-gauge shotgun taken from the bank guard earlier by one of the armed suspects.

Bataoil also said he has formed the NPD Intelligence Coordinating Committee, headed by District Investigation and Intelligence Division (DIID) chief Superintendent Jimili Macaraeg, directing them to conduct intelligence operations against the group "without let-up."

"We will leave no stone unturned until we bag the four suspects, file the case against them and put them behind bars," said Bataoil.

The official has also directed the committee to conduct a coordinating conference with all bank managers and their security officers at the soonest possible time to strengthen further their defense against potential attackers within the Camanava area.

Bataoil again reminded his chiefs of police to regularly pay visits to the banks in their respective areas.

Senior Superintendent Geronimo Reside, Caloocan City police chief, also released yesterday an artist’s sketch of three of the four bank robbery suspects.

The young woman, about 18 to 20 years old, was described by RBC bank manager Lito Evangelista, 56, as about 5’2" tall, of slight build, fair-skinned, chinky-eyed and with shoulder-length hair.

The second suspect, a male, who spoke in clear Tagalog, was described by witnesses as 5’5" to 5’6" tall, fair-complexioned, medium build and slit-eyed.

Bank guard Richard Pulgadas described the third suspect as 5’7" to 5’8" tall, dark-skinned, of medium build and with curly black hair. The last two were armed with caliber .45 pistols.

The suspects disarmed Pulgadas, the lone security guard, and locked him up with the seven employees and a depositor inside the safety vault, which was not equipped with "time delay mechanism."

The suspects fled with more than P1 million loot aboard a waiting blue van.

SPO4 Pablo Temeña Jr. chief investigator, told The STAR they are hard on the heels of the suspects even as Bataoil ordered a thorough investigation on the case.