With the use of construction equipment such as a grinder, a crowbar, a hydraulic jack, and a bolt cutter, alleged gang members bored a hole through the floor of an establishment to gain access.

Members of alleged “Termite Gang” tried to gain entry into an establishment in Barangay Sum-ag, Bacolod City through a drain canal. However, the entry was botched when the security guard heard of unusual noise at dawn on August 7, 2024.  

As soon as the guard saw the cracks on the floor, he called for police assistance. The perpetrators have already fled when the authorities arrived at the site. Police believed that an automated teller machine (ATM) is the target of the perpetrators as it is located near the area where the cracks were observed.

Further investigation disclosed that about two to four persons passed through a drainage that is around half-a-kilometer away from the establishment.

It was estimated that works on tearing through the floor could have already taken a week before it was discovered. Police believed further that the perpetrators are not from Bacolod City, but who have contact persons who may have surveyed the establishment and the drainage of the barangay.

“Indi na sila magkadto kun wala local nga nag-receive sa ila. Kalabanan sa amo sina mga pangayaw. Amo na ang aton ginalantaw kun diin sila naghalalin (Hindi sila pupunta (dito) kung walang local na nag-receive sa kanila. Kadalasan sa ganyan, mga dayo. Yan ang tinitingnan natin kung saan sila nanggaling,” Colonel Joeresty Coronica, officer in charge of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), said.

The police are focused tightly on establishing a possible connection with incidents of similar nature also in Barangay Sum-ag, and in a mall in Silay City, Negros Occidental last year.

 “We also instructed our Chief City Intelligence Investigation Management Detection Unit nga lantawon ang record nationwide kun sin-o ang mga nagkaladakpan nga amo sina ang ginahimo (We also instructed our Chief City Intelligence Investigation Management Detection Unit na tingnan ang record nationwide kung sino ang mga nahuli na ganyan ang ginagawa),” Col. Coronica added.

Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) had the recovered tools undergo finger-print matching.

“Mga propesyonal gid ni siguro nga mga kawatan. Ang kapulisan nga dapat ang ila mga patrol cars malibot from time-to-time kada gab-i (Mga propesyonal siguro itong mga magnanakaw. Ang pulisya dapat ang kanilang mga patrol cars mag-ikot from time-to-time tuwing gabi,” Barangay Sum-ag Chairman Rodney Carmona said.

The drainage in the vicinity of Sum-ag Bridge, that serves as the entry point of the perpetrators, has no CCTV camera.

GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas reached out to the management of the establishment for a statement, but the latter declined.