10-minute heist mars Day 1 of new police chief of Cebu

A P50,000 robbery that took all of 10 minutes Tuesday afternoon marred the peace-and-order situation in Cebu City, and blemished the record of its newly installed police chief. Sun-Star Cebu reported that the robbery took place while acting Cebu City Police Office chief Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador was at his formal turnover ceremony. It said at least two armed men robbed the Yusay Credit and Finance Corp. on Gorordo Ave., some three blocks away from the CCPO in Camp Sotero Cabahug, and took off with P50,000 cash. At least one suspect, Ronilo Nuñez, was arrested as of 7 p.m. Tuesday. His partner, Doroteo Imperial, remains at large. Tuesday afternoon’s heist was the first major robbery in Cebu City for 2007 and the first challenge to Comendador. Comendador had taken over the Cebu City police post from Supt. Melvin Gayotin, who held the post for more than two years. The police said the heist occurred at 3 p.m., during the turnover ceremony at the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 on Osmeña Blvd. Police arrested at least one suspect at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Six employees and security guard Wilfredo Punay of Blue Eye Security and Investigation Agency identified the two robbers through a rogues’ gallery. Imperial and Nuñez are suspected to have come from the Danny Limotan and Rey Torres robbery gang. The two did not bother to put on masks and barged inside the lending firm and immediately announced the holdup. They ordered all employees, including branch manager Arthur Apor, to kneel and hand over the cash. Perlito Siapoc, the firm’s credit investigator and appraiser, tried to resist but one of the robbers cocked his handgun. Imperial and Nuñez also cut off the telephone lines before leaving the area on a blue Honda Wave with no plate number. Siapoc reportedly tried to run after the robbers using his motorcycle, but lost sight of them. He went to the CCPO headquarters some three blocks away to seek assistance. While the lending firm has a security guard, it had no surveillance camera. A police team arrested Nuñez in his house in Maslog village in Danao City. Nuñez had locked himself inside his house but agreed to give himself up after police negotiated through Nuñez’s older brother. However, Nuñez denied any involvement in the robbery and claime he stayed in Maslog the whole day. Investigation showed Nuñez approached the firm at 10 a.m., pretending to ask if the establishment has a photocopying machine and walked away when told there was none. The polcie said Nuñez was arrested in July 2005 for allegedly participating in the Alco Credit and Foreign Exchange Inc. (Ace Investments). Nuñez at the time posted a bail bond of P100,000. - GMANews.TV