Robbery at lotto outlet in Baguio puzzles cops

BAGUIO CITY—Police are investigating the robbery at a lotto outlet here on Feb. 28, with doubts raised that it may have been an attempt to cheat the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Three men brandishing a revolver and a hand grenade took P1.2 million from the lotto outlet near a police outpost at the Dangwa bus station here.

One of the robbers wielded a revolver, a second brandished a hand grenade while a third ordered the outlet’s cashier to fill up a bag that could fit a computer notebook.

The cashier claimed she gave the contents of a cashier’s box amounting to P1.2 million, P5,000 in coins and a handgun, said Insp. Joseph Villaran, a Baguio police investigator.

But the outlet’s manager said they make a daily gross of about P20,000 to P30,000, raising questions on whether it was robbery or a ruse to cheat the PCSO.

Supt. Jesus Cambay, Baguio police chief, said the robbery took place in the early afternoon, casting doubt as to how much money the outlet would have earned for the day.

He also said people in the neighborhood had told investigators that they noticed nothing unusual at the time of the robbery. Frank Cimatu, Inquirer Northern Luzon