A COOPERATIVE in Argao town, southern Cebu claimed to have lost P170,000 in cash to the thieves.
The burglary was discovered by Vitalina Samorano, 55, a cashier of Casay Multipurpose Cooperative in Barangay Casay, Argao town, southern Cebu, as she was about to open the establishment around 8 a.m. on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
Samorano narrated to the police that the money which she kept in the coop’s cabinet was already missing when she opened it.
Police Corporal Mark Anthony Dicdican, an investigator from the Argao Police Station, told SunStar Cebu that the yet-to-be-identified burglars gained entry to the cooperative’s restroom located at the back.
The robbers allegedly smashed a piece of wood using a crowbar and a hammer in order to make room for them to pass through the space between the roof and the wall of the establishment, which is made of light materials.
According to Dicdican, the money taken was the coop's weekly collection from its members.
He claimed that the burglars had easy access to the cabinet because the key had been left in the office.
The police official said this wasn't the cooperative's first experience with a break-in.
Dicdican said that in November 2022, the cooperative also lost P40,000 in cash.(DVG, TPT)