ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) directed all city and provincial police directors down to municipal police chiefs to harden their monitoring against “developing” robbery groups in their areas.
To curb robberies, criminals and wanted persons must be kept track of, according to Brigadier General Rolando Miranda, police regional director.
“The police should also coordinate with financial institutions in their area of assignments,” Miranda added.
Areas that are “high risk” or “prone” to robbery, especially those near financial institutions, should also be identified.
Miranda’s order came after two separate robberies in the province of Iloilo in just one month.
On July 10, two men carted away P1.5 million from a money remittance center in Calinog town.
At gunpoint, a cashier was ordered to hand over all the cash inside their vault.
Police said an accomplice with a motorcycle was apparently waiting outside. The suspects quickly fled using a red motorcycle.
The police had already identified one of the two suspects.
On July 29, two employees of a cargo express were robbed by three armed men in Barangay Rumang, Pototan town.
The two were supposed to deposit money in a bank in Pototan. While their motorcycle was moving, two of the three suspects crossed the road then suddenly pulled the back rider’s backpack causing her to reportedly stumble down.
At gunpoint, the two suspects grabbed the backpack then rode on a motorcycle driven by another suspect who was allegedly on standby.
A day after the incident, one suspect was identified./PN
