Guard foils bank rob in Navotas

Seven armed men in police uniform are now the object of a manhunt by the Navotas police after a failed attempt to rob a bank before business hours yesterday in Navotas.

Superintendent Genesis Tolejano, newly installed Navotas police chief, said the attempt to rob a branch of the Metrobank on Honorio Lopez Avenue, North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS) early yesterday morning was foiled as the suspects failed to anticipate the arrival of another security guard scheduled to relieve a colleague.

Authorities said the suspects escaped in a commandeered vehicle, but failed to take anything from the bank. Also, no one was reported killed or injured in the heist.

The suspects did not expect the changing of the guard and ran helter-skelter as security guard William Olindo arrived and noticed strangers at his post.

Reports showed the suspects entered the bank’s premises at around 5:50 a.m.

Probers gathered that the armed men had earlier abducted Ricardo Rodriguez and engineer Emilio Cano at around 1 a.m. after withdrawing cash at the automated teller machine (ATM) of another bank in Timog, Quezon City.

The victims told probers they were shoved into a green Pajero (XLB-619) owned by Rodriguez and drove off to Navotas.

The suspects then switched to their police uniforms and entered the bank as employees came in to report for work. Guards Jose Comawas, Leopoldo Bacolor and Wilfredo Aquino were quickly disarmed of their guns. One of the suspects stripped Aquino of his guard uniform and got into it disguising himself as one of the bank guards.

They were uncovered, however, when the unexpected Olindo, who was to relieve Aquino, arrived.

"I was surprised to see another person. He was not the security guard I was about to relieve" Olindo told The STAR.

The fake guard opened the front door for Olindo, grabbed his hand and tried to drag him inside, but the latter resisted and freed himself.

Armed with an M-16 rifle, the man inside fired at Olindo, but missed. Olindo ran for cover.

The gunshots caught the attention of patrolling traffic enforcers Ricardo Geronimo and Margarito Madait, who immediately called for assistance.

The suspects panicked and tripped over one another as they scampered to get away from the scene.

When the cops arrived, the suspects had already escaped to Malabon City using three get-away vehicles, the green Pajero, a gray Mitsubishi Galant and an owner type jeep. They left behind five men all tied with shoelaces, but got no cash from the bank’s vault. They took three shotguns and a caliber .38 handgun.

Tolejano said that the suspects’ original plan was to wait for bank officials to arrive and rob the vault.

Police were able to recover the commandeered Pajero in Barangay Acacia in Malabon City a few minutes after the suspects fled.

Witnesses said the suspects commandeered another vehicle, a red L-300 van, and made good their escape towards Valenzuela City.