Heavily armed men robbed thousands of pesos worth of cash, checks and belongings of a bank and its clients yesterday morning in Quezon City.
Two security guards of establishments near the West Avenue branch of the Landbank of the Philippines were wounded as the robbers were trying to flee with the loot.
Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula, director of the Quezon City Police District, said the suspects, reportedly numbering around 20, were after a huge amount of money that the bank manager said was delivered that day from their main office in Manila.
“Really they (suspects) were after that big delivery from the main office. That was millions of pesos,” Gatdula told reporters.
“What they only got were the cellular phones, cash and checks from the clients and the teller,” he said.
Gatdula said the loot could amount to less than P100,000.
According to Gatdula, they are determining whether the robbers belonged to the “Ampang Group,” which he said was the one behind the robbery of the E. Rodriguez Avenue branch of the United Coconut Planters Bank in September last year.
The QCPD chief said it had the same modus operandi of having a woman pose as a client of the bank.
In yesterday’s heist, a woman and a man went inside the bank posing as customers at around 11:20 a.m. This, as the other hooded and heavily armed suspects waited outside.
The two then declared the heist, ordering the bank’s security guards to lay on the ground, and divested cash from the teller and the bank’s clients.
Additionally, security guard Ramel Rosales of the adjacent City Oil gasoline station was wounded after he was shot by some of the suspects whose vehicle was momentarily parked in front of the gasoline station.
Jerabeth Nuñez, the gasoline station’s secretary, said Rosales just went to ask the suspects to move out as the latter were using their limited parking space, which could be used only by customers.
“He (Rosales) didn’t know that they were robbers. While he was approaching, they immediately fired at him. He was hit in the leg,” Nuñez told The STAR in Tagalog.
Rosales was brought to the Capitol Medical Center for treatment.
The other security guard who was from a computer shop situated across the bank was also wounded. It was not clear how he was shot by the suspects. The still unidentified victim was brought to the hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, the suspects fled onboard a green Toyota Corolla (XPR 117), a white Tamaraw FX with still undetermined plate and a gold Starex van (XBR587) that was commandeered from a passing motorist.
Moments after the heist, police found the three vehicles “properly parked” somewhere in nearby Barangay Paltok. Police found inside the vehicles of firearms magazines.
They left parked in front of the bank a gray Tamaraw FX (UTG 408) that was among the three vehicles originally used by the suspects along with the Corolla and another Tamaraw FX.
Inspector Angelo Nicolas, chief of the QCPD Anti-Carnapping Section said they are still verifying the owners of the said vehicles.