BY MA. THERESA LADIAO & RUBY P. SILUBRICO
ILOILO – The Pavia Municipal Police Station (MPS) said it is considering inside job as the angle in the robbery incident against a fuel tank driver on Monday night, February 10, in Barangay Pandac, Pavia, Iloilo.
Reports showed that the victim identified as Ronnie Yongco Juarez, 54, a resident of Barangay Consolacion, San Miguel town, was held at gunpoint and robbed of approximately P300,000 in cash.
Pavia police said Juarez was transporting the collection money from Fieldstone NIA Road, Barangay Balabag, Pavia to their designated parking area in Barangay Pandac when the incident occurred at around 9:40 p.m.
According to Police Lieutenant Gabriel Gilmer Manguera, deputy chief of the Pavia MPS, Juarez was following a silver Mitsubishi Mirage sedan with its plate number obscured by papers.
Suddenly, the sedan stopped, and a man waiting by the roadside blocked Juarez’s path and pointed a gun at him. Manguera said two other individuals, whom the truck driver claimed he could identify by face, exited the sedan, ran toward his truck, forcibly opened the door, and took the cash before fleeing.
The deputy chief added that closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage from the area revealed a motorcycle following the suspect’s vehicle. Metro Iloilo Transport Service Cooperative (MITSCOOP) officials later identified the motorcycle rider as one of their employees.
Police were verifying the said employee’s role in the cooperative and whether he had direct involvement in the crime.
Based on the CCTV footage, the sedan appeared to have only the driver inside before the robbery, leading police to suspect that the perpetrators may have ties to the fuel transport business or the cooperative itself.
As of this writing, police were tracking the whereabouts of the suspects and their getaway vehicle.
Following the incident, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) intensified its intelligence monitoring against robbery groups and lawless elements.
IPPO director Colonel Bayani Razalan ordered all his police chiefs in the province to strengthen their barangay intelligence network (BIN) against the movements of robbers and other criminals.
“We need to strengthen our BIN and utilize our intelligence personnel to run after robbers. I already instructed my men to review the list of fugitives in their area and arrest them,” Razalan said.
Ha also ordered the conduct of 24-hour checkpoint and stronger police presence./PN
