Friday, December 15, 2006 Police set robbery raps; bank head ‘uncooperative’
THE Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) is ready to file charges against one of the suspects in the P308,000 robbery of the Bank of Ormoc in Barangay Guizo last Wednesday.
One of the bank’s employees identified the man from the pictures of previous robbery suspects showed to him by the intelligence and investigation division of the MCPO.
The complaint, however, will not be based on the bank robbery but on the fact that the suspect took the bank employee’s personal money.
MCPO Intelligence Chief Ramon Villar said the employee (name withheld) is not authorized to take legal action in behalf of the bank.
He said he will invite the bank manager to issue statements so the complaint for bank robbery can be filed.
Complaint
However, he said the manager wasn’t so cooperative. So if the latter won’t heed his invitation, the MCPO might file a complaint for obstruction of justice against him.
The MCPO is not alone in trying to solve the case. It can also count on the help of the Cebu City Police Office, which has also issued advisories to banks, moneychanger shops and other major establishments to tighten their security following a report that an Ozamiz City-based robbery gang arrived in the city two weeks ago.
Theft and Robbery Section Chief Alexis Relado said they are still verifying the report.
Lie test
In a separate interview, MCPO Director Alexander Abadinas said the bank manager should cooperate with authorities.
“He should even come and give me a visit so he could talk about what happened,” he told reporters yesterday morning.
Abadinas said he was in the bank for two hours following the alarm, yet he never saw the manager.
“This is not a small incident. He has a big responsibility as a manager,” he pointed out.
Abadinas is recommending that the manager and the bank employees undergo a lie detector test, although he admitted that he cannot compel them to do so.
Even though one of the suspects has been identified, police won’t still rule out the inside job angle.
All will be clarified once the suspect is under custody, Abadinas said.
A bank employee was taken to the MCPO headquarters yesterday where he was shown pictures of previous robbery suspects.
His statement was taken after he identified one of the suspects.
The suspect has also been linked to other robberies in Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City.
Villar and Abadinas appealed to the media not to publish or air the suspect’s name yet.
According to the employee, he entertained the suspect prior to the robbery.
He recalled that the man refused to take off his sunglasses inside.
He also dismissed the inside job angle, saying he doesn’t know the suspect.
The Bank of Ormoc lost about P308,000 to two robbers last Wednesday afternoon. It didn’t have a security guard.
One of the suspects pretended to be a client opening an account. He went out and returned to announce a robbery.
He took the money from the vault and the employees.
Abadinas has expressed his doubts over the incident, saying he was surprised that the employees were able to report an exact figure of the money stolen, considering different figures were reported. (AAG/With JST)
