Robbers use canal to enter city bank

By Liam Anacleto

CABANATUAN CITY -- It was perfectly-planned and well-executed bank heist that you sometimes see in Hollywood movies.

The only problem is that this group of bank robbers in Nueva Ecija seemingly forgot everything about the vault, leaving them with only P60,000 loot – all in P10 peso coin denomination.

A police report said the bank robbers gained entry into the Land Bank of the Philippines branch here through the city’s sewerage system along Gabaldon Street and dug a hole until they reached the underground portion of the bank’s floor.

“The suspects presumably used the manhole located on Gabaldon Street, then shifted their way through the lateral canal going to General Tinio Street and created a tunnel towards the bank,” the report said.

Investigators said the robbers appeared to have stayed under the sewerage system and the tunnel for at least one day as proven by the bottles of mineral water and bread recovered during the inspection.

The heist appeared to have been perpetrated Sunday to Monday which was declared a non-working holiday.

The incident was discovered Tuesday morning Sept. 22.

It was a painstaking task, with probers saying some of the suspects may have some background in mining activities who were determined to suffer everything because of the big bucks prospect.

As soon as they estimated that they were already under the bank’s office, the robbers then dug up a hole anew upward. It was a success as they ended up inside the stockroom of the bank.

“Once inside, the suspects destroyed the concrete wall leading to the vault. However, they failed to enter the vault since the hole they created hit another solid object that blocked their path,” the police report narrated.