Iloilo police studies next move on bank robbery case

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) is now planning on its next move following the junking of the case against the three suspects in the January 3 EastWest Bank robbery.

Senior Supt. Marietto Valerio, ICPO director, said his office will coordinate with the management of the EastWest Bank on their possible legal actions.

"Basically, the EastWest was the complainant. We just facilitated the investigation. So far, we have yet to hear from them," he said.

Valerio said the police did everything they could to run after the robbery suspects, and the case also went through the scrutiny of the bank's legal team before it was filed at the Iloilo City Prosecutors' Office.

A month after the incident, the Regional Special Operations Group and the ICPO filed robbery in band and frustrated murder charges against the suspects, with bank manager Liberty Valderrama as the nominal complainant of the case.

The accused were Arman Mayormente (of La Paz, Iloilo City), Rose Aina Sarmiento (of Dingle, Iloilo), Jade Catedral (of Badiangan, Iloilo) and five other John Does.

Mayormente was the alleged leader of the group and one of the four men who entered the bank along with Catedral. Sarmiento was the woman who asked bank guard Lony Pablico to use the bank's ATM. Police alleged that Mayormente, Catedral, and Sarmiento were identified through the bank's CCTV footage. Pablico also testified against them.

Prosecutor Elsa Griengo-Tupas, in a resolution, said there was no enough proof to indict the three suspects who in turn denied participation in the robbery, insisting they were never near the bank when the incident happened.

They also questioned the credibility of the CCTV footages, which were basically used as basis in the filing of cases against them. Apparently, the prosecution concurred to this as it stated that the evidences presented, to include CCTV footages, were not enough to establish probable cause.

With the court's dismissal of the case, the three suspects are now mulling the filing of countercharges against the police.