‘Inside job’ eyed in Abra court rob

By Mar T. Supnad

BANGUED, Abra – Senior Supt. Ernesto Gaab, Abra police director, said they will summon the property custodian to shed light on the breaking in of the Regional Trial Court branch II here where high-powered firearms and other pieces of evidence were stolen.

This, as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Cordillera Administrative Region joined investigations on the incident.

“We will interview the Court’s property custodian who is on leave to shed light on the incident,” said Gaab in a text message to this correspondent.

Chief Supt. Villamor Bumanglag, newly-designated Cordillera regional director, said police are looking on possibility of an inside job since there was no forcible entry.

Among the missing items during last week’s robbery were heavy firearms such as M79 grenade launcher, two M14 automatic rifles, pistols and court records.

Guarded by two security guards, the RTC branch is located inside the Abra provincial capitol compound which is just a stone’s throw away from the Bangued PNP station. The two security guards are identified as Jerson Claor of Barangay Poblacion, Dolores town and Bernie Tullas of Barangay Banglolaw, Bucay town under the Panther Security System Agency.

According to Investigator SPO4 Leo Villano of the Bangued PNP station, the robbers broke into RTC branch II by passing through into the sliding window of the office.

Bumanglag said pieces of evidence on illegal possession of firearms were the target of the robbers to dismiss the case against those charged in court.

One of the 20 poorest provinces in the country, Abra is under police close watch due to intense political rivalry during every election period where countless politicians and their followers have been killed.