Businesswoman robbed of store money, killed in Toledo City

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Robbers shot and killed a businesswoman in Toledo City, 28 kilometers southwest from here, before taking her bag that contained unspecified cash and several pay-to-cash checks on Tuesday evening.

The police identified the victim as Ma. Belen Santillan, 59, owner of Santillan Enterprises in Barangay (village) Don Andres Soriano (Das), Toledo City. Santillan Enterprises is engaged in selling construction materials.

Santillan, who sustained two bullet wounds in the chest, was pronounced dead at the Carmen Copper Corp. Hospital in the same barangay (village) at past 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

The businesswoman, who is also engaged in check-cashing business, had just left her store and was crossing the street at past 7 p.m. Tuesday to go to her house, some 10 meters from the store.

When Santillan reached the other side of the street, two persons accosted her and tried to grab her bag but she resisted, said Police Officer 3 Alfredo Barquin, investigator of the DAS police station.

But one of the suspects, shot her twice at the chest. The robbers then took the bag and boarded a black Honda motorcycle for getaway.

Barquin said the people in the area said they could not see the faces of the robbers because of the brownout at the time of the robbery.

Barquin said the son of the victim, Barangay Das councilor Steve Santillan, had told police he could not say the total amount of the cash and checks taken by the robbers but he added his mother might have been carrying a big amount of cash because the money came from the sales of the store for the whole day.

Steve claimed that each of four of the pay-to-cash checks of drawee bank Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp. amounted to more than P100,000, Barquin said.

Barquin said they would be inviting the store workers, to check on the possible inside job angle.

Barquin said it was possible that someone from the store gave information to the robbers about the usual activities of Santillan.