Charges filed vs cop, DSWD driver, young man in heist

TACLOBAN CITY—Robbery charges were filed against a policeman, an employee of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and a teenager for their involvement in Monday’s heist involving P8 million in funds intended as government dole for farmers and fishermen in Northern Samar.

A bail of P100,000 each was recommended for PO3 Arnulfo Boco, 58; Justino Goco, 48 and Johnny Agcang, 19. They are detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas here.

The complaint was filed at the prosecutor’s office after the suspects’ arrest hours after the robbery.

Boco, a policeman for 27 years, pointed to Goco, driver of the DSWD, as the mastermind who led the planning of the heist. Boco said Goco was the source of inside information about the transfer of P8 million in cash and checks from the house of Vilma Aguilar, a DSWD officer, to the DSWD regional office here.

The funds were part of P26 million purportedly for fishermen and farmers in Northern Samar. Aguilar had told police she was forced to bring the money home with her because the DSWD regional office was closed by the time she had the funds with her.

Police recovered P3.89 million in cash and checks from Boco and P30,000 in cash from Agcang. About P4 million remained missing. Police said the money may be with the group’s companion who remained at large.

Leticia Diokno, DSWD regional director, admitted that DSWD protocol was violated because employees were not allowed to keep funds in their possession but deposit these instead to the department’s offices which keep vaults.

Diokno said that to avoid a repeat of the case, the regional DSWD would hire security escorts in the distribution of money to beneficiaries. DSWD, she said, would also discuss with the Land Bank of the Philippines the possibility of withdrawing money from branches nearest beneficiaries.