By Jennifer P. Rendon
An estimated of P5 million worth of jewelers and 33 units of mobile phones worth P359,000 were lost after unidentified persons burglarized a mall in Balasan, Iloilo.
Lieutenant Alexander Lauren, Balasan police chief, said they were informed of the incident at 8 a.m. of Dec 5, 2022 following the opening of Gaisano Capital Mall located at Barangay Mamhut Sur.
Cherryl Mae Caballisa, the mall’s human resource officer, was the one who informed the police about the alleged robbery incident.
Police immediately responded to the crime scene and recovered three metal vaults where F & C Jewelry kept the items they were selling.
Lauron said the safety deposit boxes were discarded at a vacant stall near an optical shop.
But aside from F & C Jewelry, two mobile phone stores also claimed that their display units were also stolen.
A nearby Vivo phone store alleged to have lost 24 units of mobile phones amounting to P292,000 while a Samsung stall lost nine cellphone units worth P67,000.
Lauron said they’re still having second thoughts on the value of stolen jewelries declared by F & C Jewelry.
“It’s quite a big amount. That’s why, we are asking them to submit their inventory and invoices and other documents to support their estimate,” he said.
Investigation showed that the burglars passed through the back portion of the mall building by cutting the cyclone wire that served as the mall’s perimeter fence.
The suspects entered through the gape of the cyclone wire and directly went to the building’s fire exit.
Lauron said they could have used a crowbar to destroy the exit door’s knob.
In entering the mall, they had to make a hole on the concrete wall.
They could have exited in the same manner and fled by trekking the farmland, just on the back portion of the mall.
Lauron said the incident could have happened from midnight until early morning of Monday.
“It puzzles us that despite the sound of a door being destroyed and a portion of the cement wall being taken down, the guards claimed to have not heard anything” he said.
When the incident happened, the mall has three night-shift security guards.
Lauron said police officers also conducted three roving patrols – at 10:30 p.m. Sunday and 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. Monday – in the area.
“They did not see anything suspicious. The guards appeared to be on their post,” he said.
Lauron said they are considering “inside job” in the incident.
The three security guards, the mall manager, and construction workers are being tagged as persons of interest in the case.
