Dampal orders Cogon cops to get group behind JR Borja heist

By NITZ ARANCON and
JOEY P. NACALABAN,
Correspondents

POLICE are tracking down four armed men who robbed Quality Appliance Plaza on JR Borja St. on Tuesday night.

Maj. Evan Viñas, city police spokesman, said Col. Henry Dampal has ordered Cogon police chief Capt. Tessie Lieva to solve the robbery case the soonest time possible.

Viñas said he and Lieva have already determined one area where they believe the suspects have been holed up.

More than half a million of pesos in cash and personal belongings were divested by four armed men during the robbery staged at around 7 pm Tuesday.

The robbers, Viñas said, were riding two motorcycles when they arrived in the area. They were wearing jeans, and maroon and gray shirts.

A cashier of the store told police investigators that the robbery was carried out at a time when the store was about to close.

“Ang among pultahan naka half (open) nalang kay manira na unta. Apan kalit lang naay gisulod nga duha ka tawo ug lain na pung duha ang misunod ug naay mga armas,” the cashier said.

She said the armed men then declared a robbery, and then ordered all the workers to drop on the ground.

The robbers then, the cashier said, started to divest the money from the drawers of tellers.

Viñas said P253,724 cash was taken from Teller 1 and  P71,632 from Teller 2.

The culprits then took the belongings of the employees, including P359,756 in cash, mobile phones, and wristwatches.

The guard on duty that time had no firearm.

Viñas said the suspects, before leaving the store, took away the closed-circuit TV recorder installed inside the store.

Councilor George Goking, chairman of the city council’s committee on trade and commerce, said the robbery could have been an inside job.

“Nangong nakabalo man ang mga suspect asa gibutang sa Quality Appliance Plaza ang maong CCTV recorder? Di dako ang posibilidad nga inside job,” Goking theorized.