Sunday, April 27, 2008 P400T robbery By Jovy S. Taghoy Sun.Star Staff Reporter
TWO employees of a money-changing shop inside a mall were robbed of an estimated P400,000 in cash Friday night.
Both Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador and Theft and Robbery Section (TRS) Chief Michael Anthony Bastes, however, said they have already identified the robbers.
Criminal complaints may be filed against them within the week, the two officials said.
Ver dela Cerna, Cebu Holdings Inc. corporate communications and customer affairs division head, said he is confident the police will be able to arrest the suspects.
Identified
“We trust (in) the police’s pursuit of (the) suspects, who were identified not only by witnesses but more clearly (because they were caught) by the cameras in the area. We are sure that the culprits will be brought to justice in due time in the interest of the affected merchant and our mall customers,” he said in a statement sent through text yesterday.
The incident occurred around 9 p.m., Friday, at the vicinity of the Ayala Food and Entertainment Center in the mall’s first level.
Initial investigation by the TRS said the robbers struck when X-change Money Changer employees Glicera T. Sabuare, 34, and Elgin R. Natad, 29, were about to go up the mall’s upper level from the ground floor to deposit the cash in a vault. The two had just closed their booth.
Sabuare, who served as the cashier, carried the black bag containing the money.
Two men, however, met them and held her and Natad at gunpoint while declaring a robbery before one of them grabbed the bag.
Waiting motorcycles
A third person, who was seen standing near the money-changing booth and is believed to be the two robber’s back-up, also pointed a gun at security guard Felipe Mendez, who was detailed at the door.
Mendez was disarmed of his .38 revolver.
The robbers then fled from the mall by riding two motorcycles that were waiting outside.
A nearby restaurant’s food server told police that prior to the incident, the robbers dined in their establishment.
Police believed that the suspects were waiting for Sabuare and Natad to leave their booth.
Bastes said the victims and some witnesses have identified the robbers through the photographs shown to them.
Bastes said that before showing them the pictures, they were asked to give detailed descriptions of the robbers.
He and Comendador, however, declined to name the robbers yet because of an ongoing manhunt operation.
Comendador said they are hoping to arrest the robbers before the filing of the complaint within the week.
He said mall security could not be blamed for the incident as there is “no such thing as perfect security.”
He said that in every situation, lawless elements will always look for an opportunity, no matter how slim the chances of success are.
