A man in a police uniform robbed two office employees of over P1.2 million in cash in Quezon City on Friday, shortly after they withdrew the money from the bank.
The holdup was reported by the victims Jhoric Hernandez and Jema Sequejor of the construction firm Pali Dimensions Corp.
According to the Quezon City Police District, Hernandez and Sequejor, who worked for the company as a messenger and a trucking supervisor, respectively, withdrew the money from two different banks along Quezon Avenue.
Payroll money
Intended for the employees’ payroll, the first withdrawal amounted to P1.2 million while the second was worth P42,000.
Sequejor kept the money in a backpack, along with his personal cash amounting to P13,000.
Around 2:50 p.m., as the two employees were on a motorbike going back to their office, another motorcyclist who was wearing a black jacket over a police uniform suddenly came from behind and blocked their path.
The man, who also had a helmet on and drove a black-and-red Honda Wave bike with no registration plate, held the two employees at gunpoint and took the backpack.
In his statement to the QCPD, Hernandez recalled seeing the surname “Perez” on the police uniform’s nameplate.
Easily faked
Insp. Titoy Jay Cuden, QCPD spokesperson, said such a nameplate as described by the victim could easily be faked and is actually no longer a standard element of the current police uniform, which has the officer’s name embroidered.
“(We) received reports that the victims withdraw cash from banks every Friday,” Cuden said. “It is possible that they have been watched for a long time.”