By Jennifer P. Rendon
Police are searching for three suspects who robbed a fuel tanker driver of P300,000 in Pavia, Iloilo, on the evening of Feb. 10.
Lt. Gabriel Manguera, Pavia deputy police chief, said authorities have identified persons of interest but did not disclose their names. He noted they appear to be based in Iloilo City.
According to reports, Ronnie Juarez, 54, of Barangay Consolacion, San Miguel, Iloilo, was driving the fuel tanker from Barangay Balabag, Pavia, to the Metro Iloilo Transport Services Cooperative (MITSCOOP) garage in nearby Pandac when the robbery occurred.
“It was a short ride since the distance is just about three kilometers,” Manguera said.
Investigators found that a Mitsubishi Mirage sedan had been tailing the truck. The sedan suddenly overtook the tanker and blocked its path.
A gunman waiting by the roadside then approached and pointed a gun at Juarez. The sedan’s driver and a passenger also exited the car, approached the truck, and held Juarez at gunpoint.
Juarez noticed the sedan’s license plate was covered with paper.
The suspects forcibly opened the truck’s door and took a bag containing P300,000 in cash, which Juarez was supposed to remit to the MITSCOOP office.
Although the robbers concealed their faces, some MITSCOOP personnel were able to identify them.
Manguera said police are not ruling out the possibility of an inside job.
“An outsider couldn’t have known that the driver was carrying a large amount of money and would remit it at that exact time,” he said.
He suggested that someone within the company may have tipped off the robbers about the firm’s schedules and activities.