Dreaded ’90s robbery group behind Robinsons heist, says police official

A notorious robbery group in the ’90s whose members did not have any qualms about shooting people who get in their way was being linked by the police to the robbery at Robinsons Galleria mall in Quezon City.

Chief Superintendent Mario dela Vega, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director, said that their investigation showed similarities in the modus operandi of the group which struck on Thursday and the one which targeted an armored van at Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa City in February.

According to the QCPD official, one of the robbers killed in the Muntinlupa heist was found to be from Ozamiz City where most members of the dreaded Kuratong Baleleng group come from.

“We are currently pursuing the angle that the two incidents are related,” Dela Vega said.

In both cases, the robbers targeted security personnel who were delivering money to money changers inside the malls.

Following Thursday’s robbery which left a security guard dead and five other people injured, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome yesterday said that it was time to revive the debate on whether or not it was time to reimpose capital punishment.

“What I propose is to revisit the discussions on the death penalty. Of course, I don’t have the authority to revive it. That is still up to Congress. What I want is just to revisit the discussion,” he added.

In a radio interview, Bartolome dismissed suggestions that the PNP simply has to make its 143,000 policemen more visible to deter criminals. “We cannot place policemen in every gate, in every establishment, in every building,” he said. “We [deploy] them in clusters. [People are asking why there were no policemen posted at the [Galleria entrance], but how [can we put] policemen in every building in Metro Manila?”

He explained that the PNP could only detail a certain number of officers in certain areas of the metropolis, and patrols can operate only in 12-hour shifts. “Even 24 hours are not enough to cover all grounds,” he said.