THE amount of jewelry stolen during a heist at jewelry stores on Calderon St. in Barangay Ermita, Cebu City, remains uncertain, as owners have yet to submit an inventory of the stolen items.
Six armed men robbed two jewelry stores, DGC D’ Gold Chain Jewelry Store and Macy Gold and Silver, past 11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, and reportedly carted away P14 million worth of jewelry.
Macy Gold reported losing P10 million worth of jewelry, while DGC D’ Gold reported losses amounting to P4 million.
However, authorities said they are not yet sure of the exact amount since the two jewelry stores have not yet submitted an inventory of the jewelry that the robbers had taken a day after the heist happened.
On Friday, Aug. 9, one of the three motorcycles that the robbers used to break into two jewelry stores was found by the authorities.
This was confirmed by Carbon Police Station Chief Maj. Philip John Libres.
The robbers sped off with millions worth of jewelry in less than two minutes.
Libres said a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera captured the robbers abandoning the motorcycle in the area after switching to another vehicle. He had already asked the Land Transportation Office for permission to examine the motorcycle’s registration documents and perform a macro-etching on the engine.
Based on the CCTV footage, two men were seen riding the motorcycle and parking it at the back of the large Burgos store at 11:44 a.m., and after which they crossed the street with a big bag.
“Nakita sila nga nagkuha sa parking ticket. So, 11:44 ninaog sila, then ang usa ni labang. So, mao ni ang atong gi-track karon kon asa siya nisakay or posibling gi-pick up og sakyanan kay katong milabang mao to ang nagdala og bag,” Libres said.
(They were seen getting a parking ticket at 11:44, then one of them crossed the street. So that is what we track down now since the person who crossed the street had a bag with him. We are following where he was riding, and whether or not he was picked up by a car).
Libres said they would retrace the CCTV footage to determine where exactly they got off the motorcycle when they fled.
The two motorcycles turned onto Lincoln St., while the other one went straight to Carbon Public Market.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) asked the public to assist them in identifying the culprits while promising to solve the crime as quickly as possible.
Libres stated that immediately after the crime, they reviewed every CCTV clip of the downtown Cebu City streets where the robbers might have traveled through.
Meanwhile, CCPO Acting Director Col. Antonietto Cañete said they are working hard to investigate the crime, but they would not comment on the 48-hour ultimatum issued by Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia. However, he disclosed that the reward Garcia offered would be a great help in finding the perpetrators.
Libres revealed that all police stations in the Cebu province, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7, and the National Bureau of Investigation 7 have joined in their effort to locate the six suspects.
Reward
A reward of P100,000 will be given to any individual who can provide information that will lead to the arrest of the six suspects, Garcia said in a phone interview on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.
Garcia revealed that he will use his personal funds to aid in information gathering to resolve the robbery crime at Macy’s Gold and Silver Jewelry store and DGC D’Gold Chain Jewelry.
In addition, some of his businessmen friends pledged additional reward money.
A day after the robbery, Macy’s Gold and Silver Jewelry store opened back to business at 10 a.m. on Friday, while the adjacent DGC D’Gold Chain Jewelry remained closed as of this writing.
Garcia said that the initial police investigation has already identified two suspects, who were the individuals who left the getaway motorcycles at Barangay Sto. Niño, including the helmets used in the crime.
The suspects, according to CCTV footage, covered their faces by wearing motorcycle helmets during the robbery.
He added that the authorities are already conducting a forensic investigation on the helmets and vehicles to gather fingerprint information about the suspects.
The Carbon Police Station confirmed that the motorcycle that was recovered from the parking lot of a big store on Burgos St. was the one used by the robbers.
Aside from the recovered motorcycles, Garcia said the police had also secured a CCTV footage of another getaway vehicle that was used by the suspect after dropping the motorcycles.
The police are already tracking the vehicle’s movement and its owner with the identified plate number.
Garcia believes that the suspect has already fled outside of Cebu City and might be part of a crime syndicate.
He added that there is still a high chance that these suspects were related to the Oro Sugbo robbery incident back in November 2023.
Garcia also challenged Cañete to resolve the crime, as the latter now has less than 24 hours from his 48-hour time frame to make an apprehension against the suspects.
He added that the result of the investigation will be his consideration as to his choices for the next CCPO chief.
Failure of intelligence?
There might be a failure in the intelligence gathering from the authorities that might have deterred the crime, Garcia said.
He added that he’s not discounting the possibility that the plan was hatched outside the city and was planned a long time ago.
He urged the general public to maintain vigilance over their belongings and properties and report any suspicious individuals or activities right away to the authorities. / AYB, TPT, EHP