Alarm thwarts bank burglary

ROBBERS who broke into a bank in Quezon City over the weekend fled empty-handed after the alarm went off.

In their haste to escape, they left behind several bullets and the tools they used to break into the Banco de Oro branch on Anonas Street in Project 2.

Chief Insp. Rodelio Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said the attempted robbery happened before dawn on Sunday.

It was discovered around 2:30 a.m. after the bank alarm went off, sending an alert to the BDO central office.

The alarm, however, was not connected to the nearest police station, the one located on Anonas Street, a few blocks away from the bank.

Anonas police station commander Supt. Richard Fiesta said they were informed of the robbery by the bank only 30 minutes later.

On top of this, their investigators were not allowed inside the establishment as bank officials cited protocol.

Marcelo said the robbers apparently entered the bank by boring a hole in the roof and ceiling. Nothing was missing as the vault was still locked and no important documents were missing. This led the police to conclude that the robbers may have fled when they heard the bank alarm go off.

BDO personnel later reported that someone had broken one of the pipes inside the toilet as there was water gushing out of it. On top of this, someone had taken one of the faucets.

The faucet and a portion of the water pipe were later found outside the establishment during a perimeter check conducted by the police.

Also found in the bank’s parking lot were six bullets for a cal. .38 firearm, a screwdriver, a hammer, a tire wrench, a baton and a black pouch bag.

The bank closed at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday after which it was locked for the night but without a security guard on the premises.