Two robbers cart away P1.2M; three others nabbed elsewhere

CEBU, Philippines - A piggery in Sitio Tubod, Barangay Valladolid, Carcar City, Cebu lost P1.2 million in cash after the bank messenger tasked to deposit the cash reported that two unidentified men on a motorcycle held him up Thursday morning.

Marvin Cababan, 36, of Barangay Guadalupe, Carcar City said he was riding his Honda XRM motorcycle with license plate UC 8974 around 11:25 a.m. when the robbers blocked his path.

He was heading back to the bank, where he worked as messenger/janitor, after getting the money from the farm when the incident happened.

Cababan alleged that the backrider alighted from the motorcycle and took at gunpoint the sling bag containing the cash and his motorcycle key. He said he failed to react due to fear.

The robbers, whom he said were armed with a .45 pistol and a KG9 sub-machine pistol and wore full-face helmets, fled on a black motorcycle without a license plate to an unknown direction.

It took Cababan almost an hour to report the incident to the police, saying he still had to push his motorcycle to a shop 30 to 40 meters away to make a call.

The police are still clueless as to the identities of the robbers as there was no other witness except Cababan.

“Blanko pa tayo kasi nagbase lang tayo sa (We are still facing a blank wall. What we got are just based on the) facts and information given by the victim,” said Supt. Ricky Delilis, Carcar police chief.

He said they are still investigating if the robbery could have been an inside job.

“Mahirap (It is not right to) mag-speculate kung modus kasi walang bakas at bakit mo i-aasa ang (if it was a modus operandi;  but we saw no sign of robbery and why would you leave) P1.2 million sa isang (just to a) janitor/messenger? Ang laki ng pera hindi mo ilalaban (It was a huge amount but he never dared to resist),” Delilis said, referring to Cababan.

The Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) is also coordinating with the Carcar City police, while the bank is currently making an internal investigation with regards to possible lapses in securing the amount.

Cababan has been working in the bank for seven years already and is already trusted.

Elsewhere, the police arrested a robber each in the cities of Danao and Mandaue and in Liloan town in separate operations.

John Rey Gonzales, 33, of Barangay Poblacion, Danao City, was arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant for robbery signed by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 25 Judge Jerry Dicdican.

Gonzales, who yielded a .45 pistol loaded with six bullets, did not resist when the police accosted him around 9:30 a.m. last Thursday.

Supt. Rodolfo Albotra, PIB chief, said Gonzales is linked to several robbery incidents in Danao and in the towns of Compostela and Liloan.

He said Gonzales belongs to an organized group whose members are illegal drug users and are involved in drug pushing.

 â€œWe are conducting an investigation if they are guns-for-hire and to interrogate him for the arrest of his cohorts,” Albotra said.

Snatching and robbery victims have identified Gonzales as among those who preyed on them.  Gonzales did not deny their accusations.

In Mandaue City, Joseph Arcelo, 29, of Barangay Poblacion, Compostela, Cebu, was arrested by the police after attending a court hearing at the sala of RTC Branch 56 Judge Teresita Galanida around 11 a.m. last Wednesday.

Arcelo just finished a hearing of an attempted murder case he was facing when SPO4 Wilfredo Caturza of Compostela Police Station recognized him as a robbery suspect.

Caturza, who was attending a hearing that time, immediately handcuffed Arcelo by virtue of an alias warrant for violation of Presidential Decree 532  (highway robbery with intimidation)  issued by RTC Branch 28 Judge Marilyn Yap.

Arcelo is now detained at the Compostela Police Station stockade.

In Liloan, Rodencio Ramos, 59, of Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City, was also arrested for robbing his former workmate around 5:30 p.m. last Thursday.

Ramos said he was forced to rob Diosdado Gayas, 49, also from Paknaan, because his family barely has something to eat for the past three weeks after he resigned as a driver of Jojardine Marketing in Barangay Labogon, Mandaue City.

The police said Ramos flagged down Gayas, who was driving an Isuzu Elf delivery truck (GEP 302) on the way to Liloan town, and begged to hitch a ride.

When they reached Barangay Tamiao, Compostela, Ramos allegedly pulled out a .38 revolver and ordered Gayas to hand over the P17, 990 cash with him.

Gayas took his chance and scuffled with Ramos, who fled after he fired at Gayas but missed.

Responding Compostela police immediately coordinated with Liloan police, who conducted a hot pursuit operation and caught Ramos, who still had the revolver with him, in Barangay Cotcot.

Insp. Mia Rose Burlat, Compostela chief, said the suspect was forced to resign from Jojardine after he reportedly overpriced the products he delivered to buyers. (FREEMAN)