A driver of a fuel tanker owned by a bus cooperative operating in Iloilo City lost reportedly around P300,000 to holduppers in Pavia town, Province of Iloilo.

However, the authorities did not rule out the possibility of an "inside job."

Based on initial investigation, the driver brought around P300,000 for supposed salary of employees, but on his way back to the motor pool in Barangay Pandac, Pavia from Barangay Balabag, the alleged holdup incident took place.

He said that a car was tailing the fuel tanker, and upon reaching Barangay Hibao-an, the car overtook reportedly the tanker, flagged him down, and declared a holdup at about 10 p.m. on February 10, 2025. 

He added that the driver of the car was with two other men.

However, Police Lt. Gabriel Gilmer Manguera, deputy chief of police at Pavia Municipal Police Station, in an interview with GMA Super Radyo Iloilo, said they pursued the angle of a possible “holdup me" incident, or the possibility that the driver fabricated the holdup story. 

Manguera pointed out that the driver was all alone when the incident happened.

Backtracking CCTV footages and conducting a follow-up investigation on the incident are ongoing, as of posting time.

(via R. Tenorio, R. Bebita/GMA Super Radyo Iloilo)