MANILA, Philippines—Former Philippine National Police Director General Edgardo Aglipay, chair of the Emirate Security Specialist Inc., Tuesday defended the actions of the agency’s 33 guards assigned to Greenbelt 5.

He said his men could not be faulted for following the security firm’s guidelines in dealing with the robbery on Sunday at the classy mall in Makati City.

Aglipay also disclosed that Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), which owns the Greenbelt malls, explicitly asked for a “no armed encounter” policy when it hired the services of his family’s security agency.

“How can there be a lapse in security when a robber was killed while sparing innocent civilians? Is that a breach of security guidelines?” Aglipay said.

The Philippine National Police has placed the security agency under investigation for possible security lapses.

Asked for comment on Aglipay’s statement about a no-armed-encounter policy, ALI spokesperson Jorge Marco said the general policy “is to protect 1. the safety of customers and 2. the safety of assets.”

“Use of arms is determined on a case-to case-basis,” Marco said Tuesday night. “If it’s a choice between safety of customers and assets, they will prioritize customers.”

He added: “On certain occasions, like in the case of a hostage-taking by a terrorist, they must coordinate with authorities but if guards have a chance to shoot, they will. Bottomline is, it depends on the situation.”

PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa said he would cancel the license of Aglipay’s security firm if it was found to have violated police protocols issued to private security agencies.

“The sanctions against the security agency would depend on the gravity of the offenses it may have committed. If warranted, the PNP would revoke the agency’s licenses and permits,” Verzosa told the Inquirer.

In an audacious attack, suspected members of the Alvin Flores Gang seized P6 million worth of luxury watches from the Rolex store at Greenbelt 5. One of the robbers was killed in a gunbattle with two policemen.

Slain gunman’s identity

Police have received initial information on who the slain gunman might be, but the chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), Director Roberto Rosales, stressed the man’s identity still had to be verified.

Rosales told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that a woman, speaking in Ilocano, called the Veronica Funeral Homes in Pasay City on Monday night and said the man was her nephew, giving the man’s name as Armando Domingo.

“She claimed she and her nephew hail from the north but we still have to confirm all the information she gave,” Rosales said.

As of press time, the woman had not claimed the bullet-riddled cadaver from the parlor, said the Makati City chief of police, Senior Supt. Cedrick Train.

Train said he had ordered his men to strictly monitor the parlor in case any of the man’s relatives came to claim the body.

“The positive identification of the slain robber could help us establish a trail to the other members of the gang,” Train said.

Civilian safety first

In a phone interview, Aglipay said his men were trained to put primacy on public safety over protection of property, and purposely avoided trading shots with the robbers.

Aglipay said he took over the chairmanship of the security company after his father-in-law, former Ambassador Manuel Yan, died last year.

“They exactly did what they were trained for. Their primary concern was the safety of the shoppers,” Aglipay said.

He said his men tried to avoid a situation that would result in a gunbattle, fearing a repeat of the deadly shoot-out between police and the Flores group in a middle-class subdivision in Parañaque City last December in which 16 people were killed. The dead included several civilians.

“If they engaged those robbers in a shoot-out, I could have been busy today asking for forgiveness from the families of civilians killed in the crossfire,” Agligay said.

‘Our men are well-trained’

Aglipay tried to parry criticisms that the Emirate’s watchmen lacked training, saying the agency also provides security to leading local and multinational companies, such as San Miguel Corp., Honda Phils. and Panasonic.

Emirate has also been hired by ALI to protect its chain of malls in Metro Manila, Cebu and other provinces, according to Aglipay.

“Ours is a high-end security agency. Our men are well-trained,” he said.

He said: “Maybe you should ask [ALI] if they are happy with our services and if they are satisfied with how we handled the Greenbelt 5 incident.”

Aglipay said the police must focus their investigation on the alleged lack of “security ring” around the mall complex.

He, however, admitted that his security supervisor failed to “formally coordinate and communicate” with the Makati police.

Security breach

Rosales stood by his earlier statement that the watchmen assigned at Greenbelt 5 breached security protocols.

“Those are the observations of the policemen who actually engaged the robbers in the shoot-out,” he said.

Rosales said although he respected Aglipay’s observations, “they should explain why the security guards did not put up a blockade.”

“The road block [outside the mall] could have prevented the armed group from escaping our pursuing policemen,” he said.

Rosales also said that nobody among the guards helped the two policemen who engaged the robbers in a shoot-out.

No coordination

NCRPO officials are scheduled to meet Aglipay on Wednesday as part of the police investigation.

Rosales said a fact-finding committee, led by the head of the Southern Police District (SPD), Chief Supt. Jaime Calungsod, was looking into the possible lapses and liability of the Emirate guards.

Flores gang

Members of the Flores gang are known to have stormed banks, warehouses and other business establishments in the most unexpected hours, disguised in military and police uniform.

Police records showed that an Armando Domingo, 32, was a wanted criminal facing a string of cases in Rizal and Antique provinces, according to Senior Supt. Mark Edison Belarma, the SPD deputy chief.

Belarma said records showed that Domingo went into hiding after he was charged with murder, theft and violation of municipal ordinances.

Help from fixers

How can security guards be expected to put their lives on the line if they get only minimum wages and are armed only with old shotguns and rusty revolvers?

Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista raised the point in a statement Tuesday, saying security guards, especially those working in malls, were sometimes not given benefits due them despite them having to risk their lives.

“How do you expect them to risk death and injury against determined criminals?” Bautista said, warning major shopping malls in Metro Manila would continue to be inviting targets for robbers.

“Security guards are some of the most exploited workers,” he said. “Agency owners cheat them out of their social security contributions, most do not get paid for overtime duty, others receive below minimum salaries.”

They are also not paid health or insurance benefits, he said.

Bautista said some agencies were fielding security guards who had not undergone basic instruction and even without licenses because they had influential “fixers” who could get papers approved.

He added that security guards were often only armed with old shotguns that were no match to the superior firepower of robbers.

“The robbers at Greenbelt 5 were brandishing high-powered rifles, like M-16s, with M-203 grenade launchers. How can we even expect security guards to stop them with their rusting revolvers that may not even fire?” Bautista said.

Police later said the grenade launcher supposedly carried by one of the robbers turned out to be a fake. With a report from Doris C. Dumlao