CIDG files raps vs P3.5M ATM heist suspects
CAVITE – FOUR men identified as behind the theft of some P3.5 million stashed in a Metrobank offsite ATM (automated teller machine) booth in Tanza, Cavite, on October 30 last year, were charged in court by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) following a lengthy investigation.
PNP-CIDG Director Major General Eliseo DC Cruz identified the suspects as Gerald Bawas, Alison Aligan, Brylee Bawingan, and Jay-Ar Quitoyan.
The four were charged by the Cavite CIDG with robbery under Article 293 of the Revised Penal Code before the Cavite Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Imus City following a complaint from the Metrobank, the official said.
According to Maj. Gen. Cruz, the four were identified by witnesses as the men who stole P3.5 million from the Metrobank offsite ATM in Barangay Mulawin in Tanza municipality last October 30.
He said that witnesses identified the four as the same men they saw in an eatery just beside the Emilu’s Supermarket while having a serious huddle before the heist.
Hours before the robbery was discovered, one witness told the Cavite CIDG that he saw Bawas waiting in a van near the supermarket but simply ignored him.
The witnesses added that moments later, three heavy sweating men boarded the same van and immediately left in a hurry while carrying a crowbar and some bags.
“The witness thought that the suspects were mere construction workers in the area,” said Cruz.
The official said that the ATM cash vault was found to have been opened forcibly and its contents emptied the following day.
He said that the Tanza Police were able to find the witnesses who, after looking at the local police’s rogues’ gallery, positively identified the suspects as the same people they saw before and after the heist was discovered.
The Metrobank later sought the assistance of the Cavite CIDG in filing the criminal charges against the suspects.
Maj. Gen. Cruz assured Metrobank authorities and the public that they will keep track of the case and move to arrest the four as soon as the court issued a warrant against them. By Alfred Dalizon
