Termite Gang members nabbed

Suspected Termite Gang members (not in order) Jordan Duldulao, Malebert Bautista, Allyson Aligan, Gearldine Bawas and Ambrose Rex Layao are presented to the media during a press conference at the QCPD headquarters in Camp Karingal, Quezon City. —EDWIN BACASMAS

Two days after their weekend heist at a bank in Quezon City was discovered, five alleged members of the so-called Termite Gang were arrested.

The suspects, all in their 20s, were caught red-handed while allegedly casing another bank along Edsa corner New York Street in Cubao, Quezon City on Tuesday evening, after an informant tipped the police on their next target.

The group earned their moniker from their modus operandi, which involved digging their way into the building they plan to rob.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) identified the suspects as Jordan Duldulao, 29; Malebert Bautista, 26; Gearldine Bawas, 25; Ambrose Rex Layao, 28; and Allyson Aligan, 23, natives of Ilocos Sur and Baguio City.

In an interview, the men claimed they only acted as lookouts during the robbery at a China Bank branch along Commonwealth Avenue over the weekend, which the suspects entered on Saturday through a manhole from where they dug a tunnel into the bank.

Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, QCPD director, said the gang acts like an organized syndicate, which “compartmentalizes” the assigned jobs. “There are about 15 in this group, but there are others affiliated with other groups,” he said.

Senior Insp. Alan dela Cruz, head of QCPD’s theft and robbery division, said they received a tip on Monday night that the suspects would strike anew, this time at a Banco de Oro branch in Cubao. The informant gave the plate number (AHN 858) of a gray Mitsubishi Montero used by the suspects .

At around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dela Cruz said the vehicle parked in front of the bank. “One of the suspects alighted and was seen leaving a firearm inside the vehicle,” he said. The suspect was later identified as Aligan.

One of the suspects was seen measuring the distance from the sidewalk gutter to the bank entrance using  his feet.

Recovered from the suspects were three guns, a hand grenade and a knife. Also seized were  tools for digging,  including a  hydraulic jack, hand drill, metal bars and  screwdrivers.

The next day, operatives raided the suspects’ alleged hideout at Barangay Muzon in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan province. More tools were recovered, including an oxygen tank, hose, hammer and steel saws.