ILOILO City – The robbery gang suspected to be responsible for a major robbery at Iloilo Supermart in Barangay Tabuc Suba, Jaro district here has reportedly relocated to the northern part of Iloilo province.
Colonel Bayani Razalan, director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), confirmed receiving reports about the gang’s new location and has heightened security measures in response.
He instructed IPPO intelligence officers to intensify surveillance and monitoring activities.
A meeting was held on Friday last week with management and security personnel of malls and other cash-handling establishments across northern Iloilo to discuss robust security strategies.
Special attention is being given to towns with large shopping centers, including Sara, Balasan and Estancia, to fortify their defenses against potential criminal activities.
Razalan emphasized the need for security guards of business establishments to remain vigilant, particularly during nighttime hours, to prevent similar incidents.
Between the night of August 26 and the early hours of August 27 in Barangay Tabuc Suba, Jaro, a robbery gang successfully executed a heist, stealing P1.3 million in cash from the Iloilo Supermart.
The robbers employed tactics reminiscent of the infamous “termite gang”, utilizing a combination of tunneling, wall dismantling, and drainage system access to carry out the robbery.
In response to this, the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) formed a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to accelerate the investigation.
The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) authorized the establishment of SITG Iloilo Supermart on September 5.
Police Colonel Kim Legada, ICPO director, leads the taskforce.
The group consists of 22 members, including 10 commissioned officers and 12 non-commissioned officers, and aims to fortify the investigation by collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend the suspects.
Mayor Jerry Treñas has announced a P500,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the culprits, funded partly by an initial P250,000 from the city and supplemented by local businesses eager to resolve the crime swiftly./PN
