‘Failed’ bank burglar got in, out thru roof

A burglar broke into a branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) on Sucat Road, Parañaque City, before dawn on Wednesday by making an opening through the roof, but apparently left empty-handed, police said.

“The vault was intact and nothing was apparently taken from the bank,” Senior Supt. Billy Beltran, the city police chief, told the Inquirer on the phone yesterday.

Beltran said the bank’s security cameras captured the image of at least one man entering the bank at around 2:50 a.m. on Feb. 28.

The “failed robbery,” as the officer put it, was only discovered at about 8 a.m. the same day when the security guard on-duty, Ronaldo Biñas, discovered that a portion of the bank’s roof of galvanized iron had been cut and parts of the ceiling detached.

“It’s really curious that the suspect did not take anything from the bank,” Beltran said. “It’s also mysterious that the bank’s alarm system did not go off when the suspect entered the bank.”