ILOILO – A money remittance center lost about P1.5 million in a broad daylight robbery on Osmeña Street, Barangay Poblacion Centro, Calinog town on Saturday.
Gladys Almirante, cashier at Western Union, told the police it was around 8 a.m. when a gun-wielding man suddenly barged into the center.
She was alone. The remittance center had no security guard.
At gun point, Almirante said, she was ordered to hand over all the cash inside their vault.
“For fear that she would be harmed she gave the money to the gunman,” said Police Captain Dadjie Delima, chief of police.
The gunman then tied Almirante’s hands, covered her mouth with a packing tape, then brought her to the comfort room where she passed out after being made to smell a handkerchief believed to have been laced with some chemicals.
The victim regained consciousness some two hours after, Delima said.
Almirante – a resident of Barangay Mangil, Janiuay – said the robber was wearing a facemask, a white shirt and pair of pants.
An accomplice with a motorcycle was apparently waiting outside.
“The man quickly fled using a red motorcycle,” Delima furthered.
Investigators believed the robbery was timed with the scheduled power interruption.
“With the scheduled brownout, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras won’t function. But when we checked, the CCTV cameras inside the establishment turned out to be defective,” Delima said.
With the help of witnesses, the police have identified suspects.
Delima said Almirante herself recognized the robber.
“We have launched a manhunt but we could not yet publicly name them,” added Delima./PN
