NINE persons were shot dead by still unidentified men who robbed the Rizal Commercial Bank Corp. (RCBC) in Cabuyao, Laguna Friday morning.
The fatalities were identified as Roberto Panganiban Castro, the bank’s branch manager; Ferdinand Bernard Antonio; teller Benjamin Manalo Nicdao Jr.; janitor Juan Marza Layva; commercial manager Bernardo Lapaan Jr.; operation assistant Noel Olaes Miranda; security guard Aguilando Baltazar; Teresita Umayao; and Olga Gonzales.
Another person was injured in the robbery. He was identified as bank relationship manager Isagani Pastor, who was taken to the St. James Hospital for a gunshot wound in the head.
“This is not the handiwork of humans. This was perpetrated by animals,” regional police chief Ricardo Padilla told ABS-CBN television.
Cabuyao Police Chief Moises Pagaduan said they received a phone call at 9:20 a.m. Friday from the administration office of the Laguna Industrial Science Park about a robbery at RCBC in Barangay Pulo in the town, which is south of Manila.
According to him, they immediately proceeded to the bank and “there we noticed that the RCBC Bank entrance door sign (read) closed.” He said this prompted the policemen to “forcibly enter and destroy the glass door to gain entrance and saw the tables were (in) disarray.”
Cabuyao policemen arrived when the robbers had already escaped. They recovered at the vicinity of Turbina in Calamba City the robbers’ getaway vehicle—a Mitsubishi color silver gray bearing license plate XHS-341 owned by Nicdao, one of the bank’s tellers.
Police are looking into the angle of an inside job after some witnesses tagged two of the bank’s security guards to be behind the crime.
Witnesses claimed that the two security guards escaped with the robbers.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Avelino Razon Jr. directed Police Regional Office (PRO) 4-A Director Ricardo Padilla to organize Task Force RCBC that will investigate the bloody bank heist.
Task Force RCBC will be composed of investigators from the Regional Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Regional Crime Laboratory, Traffic Management Group, Laguna Police Provincial Office and Civil Security Group.
The PNP chief also ordered PNP Director for Operations Silverio Alarcio Jr. to revive the security clustering system in areas with bank branches and other commercial establishments.
Under the security clustering system, a police team under a supervisor will be assigned to provide security to the clustered areas.
Razon also instructed Alarcio to convene the Joint Anti-Bank Robbery Council and the Bank Security Management Association to coordinate the smooth implementation of new security measures.
Citing initial reports from Task Force RCBC, PNP spokesman Nicanor Bartolome said a suspected getaway vehicle has been recovered somewhere in Laguna. Scene of Crime Operations (Soco) technicians are processing the vehicle. (VR/Joanna L. Katanyag-UST intern/Sunnex/AFP)
