By Jennifer P. Rendon
A gasoline station in Jaro, Iloilo City lost around P1.6 million in an early morning robbery.
The incident was discovered around 4:40 a.m. of June 7 by the pump attendant of Jetti Gasoline Station at Barangay Tabuc Suba, Jaro.
George Terre, Jr., a resident of Nueva Valencia, Guimaras and temporary resident of Cubay village, Jaro, claimed he arrived at the station early morning and quickly discovered that the door of the gasoline station’s office was open.
When he checked, Terre said the office was already in disarray.
Captain Eduardo Siacon, Jaro police chief, said Jetti’s closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras were working at the time of the incident.
Based on the CCTV footage, two persons entered the gas station’s office around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday.
They were carrying a mallet, grass cutter, and keys, among others.
They tried to enter the main door by destroying the knob using a screwdriver. When their attempts failed, one of the suspects went to the back door.
An air vent at the back door served as his entry point in going inside the office.
He crawled into the ceiling until he reached the office. He then opened the main door for his companion.
The two suspects then destroyed the gasoline station’s improvised safe.
“It wasn’t exactly a vault. It was a steel cabinet with metal grills and padlock. That’s where they kept the money and documents,” Siacon said.
The station was not depositing the firm’s earning. Instead, a bank’s armored vehicle picked up their deposit every other day.
The station had a big earning the past two days because of the volume of vehicles that filled up their tanks in anticipation for Tuesday’s oil price hike.
The station usually closed shop at 11:00 p.m. but on Monday night, they extended for several minutes, Siacon said.
As this developed, Siacon said they already have two persons of interest behind the robbery.
The two are from Iloilo and had no previous records with the Jaro Police Station.
