TACLOBAN CITY- A member of the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) robbed two establishments in separate occasion and carted away with P3,800, a measly amount compared to his monthly income of P32,000.
Arrested was Marianito Tondo, Jr., 40 and a resident of Barangay 83, who robbed LPG stores both owned by the Tacloban Rufrance Gas Corp.
Tondo, who is assigned at the mobile force of the TCPO but is now on a mandatory schooling at the regional training center located in San Jose district, this city, first robbed an LPG store on July 22 located in Barangay Paraiso, San Jose, and took P900.
Then on July 29, he again robbed its branch located in Barangay 96, also in the city, and took P2,900.
But on July 31 at about 3:30 pm, he was arrested at the training center, said Senior Inspector Alex Echon, head of the TCPO Station 1.
“He did not resist when we arrested him,” Echon said.
Echon said that the suspect, who was armed with a short arm when he robbed the two stores, was identified by the personnel of the establishment.
It was learned that the personnel of the store located in Brgy. 96 knew the suspect as he was assigned in the area.
An inquest proceeding for robbery with intimidation was filed against the suspect on Tuesday (July 31) at about 4:40 pm before the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Chief Inspector Rex Cantillep, TCPO information officer, said that the accused, who is now detained at their lock-up cell, has been in the police force since 2006.
“He just actually went into schooling for a month now and he has no (derogatory) record until these robbery incidents,” Cantillep said.
He said that the suspect could have committed the crimes as he was said to be involved in cockfighting.
Tondo declined to issue any comment.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
