ROBBERS carted away P100,000 from a branch of LBC, a courier company, on Velez-Neri streets in Cagayan de Oro City over the weekend.
Two unidentified robbers were caught on security camera entering the establishment around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, November 4. They left after five minutes.
The robbers, armed with unknown caliber of short firearms, were able to enter the establishment as there were no guards to inspect them.
Police said that according to the management, the robbers took P110,000, but it failed to present documents.
The video footage showed that one of the perpetrators was wearing a peach-colored shirt with text "Make poverty a history" printed at the back, gray bush hat, short pants, and a backpack. The other robber was wearing a light green sweatshirt with hood, bull cap, and short pants.
Police said that based on the description, one of the robbers seemed to have also been involved in another robbery incident involving an LBC branch, this time in Barangay Carmen.
City Police Director Nelson Aganon said they do not want to put blame on anybody but the incident could have been prevented had the management employed security guards as advised by authorities.
Investigators are not convinced that the incident was just a stroke of luck for the robbers.
“It happens already. May pattern na. Sino nagbigay ng information na may pera sa loob ng ganoong oras and during weekend. Di kami convince na naka-tsamba ang mga suspek kasi alam nila when to strike,” Aganon said.
(There is already a pattern. Who gave them information that there's money inside during that time and during weekend? We are not convinced that the robbers were just lucky, because they already know when to strike.)
Authorities have long been recommending to LBC management to step up and upgrade its security measures by employing security personnel for all its branches.
“Sabi namin sa security assessment even before na ni-recommend na sa LBC that they should hire security guards and here they are very brave to put cash on their drawers, so parang hindi practical you are investing so much and hindi ka nag-invest sa security,” he added.
Aganon is urging all business establishments, especially those that involve money in their operation, to employ security guards.
He said investigators are now focusing on solving the case.
“Dalawa lang sila pero hindi sila hardcore group. Wala pa tayong profile na ganoon, parang sariling lakad lang (They don't belong to a hardcore group; there were just two of them. We don't have such profile yet),” Aganon said.