Armed men rob money remittance stone’s throw away from police station

Three armed men took at least P150,000 in cash and other valuables from a money remittance outlet just about 60 meters from a police station in Cebu City as the shop was opening at 8 a.m. yesterday.

Two shop staffers had just opened the shop, Palawan Express Pera Padala, a remittance outlet of Palawan Pawnshop located on A. Soriano Street just across SM City Cebu in the Mabolo district and around 60 meters from the Mabolo Police Station, when two men entered along with a female customer who had been waiting outside the establishment.

Cashier Jovan Angot, 22, said in an interview that he was still in a squatting position to open the lock on a roll-up door leading to the pawnshop’s booth when the two men pulled out guns and pointed the weapons at him, fellow worker Grace Flores, 24, and customer Aster Nebasa and demanded that they turn over their money and personal effects.

“Ihatag ang tanan ninyong kuwarta ug ubang mga butang (Hand over your money and belongings.),” one of the robbers allegedly said.

Angot, who was the one bringing the cash and the laptop computer of the company, said he was so shocked that he gave all his things to the robber, who wore a baseball cap and sunglasses.

One of the robbers then ordered the staffers and the lone customer to enter the booth.

“Sulod mong tanan kung dili mo gustong patyon (Get inside if you don’t want to get killed.),” the robber was quoted saying.

They hid below the counter and stayed there until they were certain the robbers had left.

The heist lasted just around 20 minutes.

Investigator PO2 Felix Tuñacao said a witness saw the robbers running toward an adjacent street where they were picked up by an accomplice waiting on a red motorcycle.

Police quoting a witness, a cigarette vendor, said the suspects were already in the area before the shop staffers arrived.

The vendor said one of the suspects even bought a cigarette from him and pulled a chair and chatted with him.

The vendor said he did not witness the actual robbery as he left his post to get a bottle of mineral water after one of the shop clerks asked him to get one. When the vendor returned, he said he already saw the victims crying.

No helmet

Emmanuel Gelig, a traffic enforcer, said he was manning traffic on A. Soriano St. when he noticed three men speeding away on board a motorcycle.

He said he tried to stop them as only the driver was wearing a helmet, but they ignored him and continued with their getaway towards Mandaue City.

Gelig said he was not aware that the three had just robbed the money remittance outlet.

Inspector Leonardo Inso, deputy commander of the Mabolo Police Station, said they were manning a checkpoint on Juan Luna St. near the Carmelite’s monastery at the time the robbers struck.

No guards, no alarm

Insp. William Tacaba, chief of the Theft and Robbery Section of the Cebu City Police Office, said the money remittance outlet, which opened last April 24, neither had a security guard nor a functioning closed-circuit TV camera and alarm system.

He ruled out the possibility of an “inside job” as the suspects were seen by witnesses waiting for about 20 minutes before the shop opened.

Lyn Rose Cabugnasa, area manager of Palawan Express, said they temporarily closed the shop as they have to replace the laptop which the outlet uses for its transactions.

There are 119 Palawan Pawnshop branches and two remittance outlets in Cebu./with Chito Aragon