Pawnshop employee reports robbery, ends up being charged with theft

MANILA, Philippines—A pawnshop employee reported a robbery on Friday but ended up being the one charged on suspicion it was he who actually stole almost P50,000 in cash from his workplace.

Police said Isaiah Clarence Gabisan, 24, was subjected to inquest proceedings for qualified theft on Saturday morning at the Quezon City prosecutors office.

La Loma police station commander Superintendent Osmundo de Guzman said Gabisan was an appraiser of the Tambunting pawnshop on A. Bonifacio Avenue, Barangay Balingasa.

Police said it was Gabisan who reported to his employer that robbers had broken into the pawnshop at around 5:26 p.m. Friday and carted away P48,200 in cash.

De Guzman, however, noted that Gabisan informed his boss about the incident only via text message and 30 minutes after the alleged robbery took place.

Police also learned that Gabisan has only been working at the pawnshop for five months.

A coworker, Medina Sabas, said she was the only one with Gabisan inside the pawnshop and did not notice a robbery take place that afternoon.

The pawnshop had no security guard and no closed circuit television camera, but had windows with steel grills, and entrances with padlocked iron gates.

“If there was an armed robber, the employees can easily hide and take cover,” De Guzman said, adding that it might be an inside job.

He pointed out that “the only way that they could get robbed (was) if the robber was actually allowed inside the pawnshop.”

Sabas recalled that she only saw a man wearing a helmet walk toward the pawnshop.

According to the witness, Gabisan already had the money with him during closing time although the money was supposed to be in the vault.

De Guzman said the standard procedure is not to take out money from the vault unless a customer was pawning an item.

Sabas added that Gabisan did not even use the pawnshop’s alarm even though they were told to activate it in case of a robbery.