BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews / 26 Nov) – The city police office here is looking into a possible inside job in the recent robbery inside the Department of Environment Natural Resources (DENR) regional office compound in high-powered firearms were reported stolen Wednesday last week.
Around 8:35 a.m. of Nov. 21, Ireneo Supan Salvador, designated as the logistics officer of the anti-illegal logging task force, together with his companion Ronald B. Reyes, reported to Police Station 3 in Barangay Ambago here that several high-powered firearms kept inside a room in the Regional Training Center Hostel building in the DENR regional office compound were stolen.
SPO4 Abelito Relatorres, spokesman of Station 4, said that they are still conducting the investigation and looking at the possibility of an inside job.
“Although we cannot conclude it yet, but an inside job is a big possibility, said Relattores. He noted, too, that the main door does not have any signs of forced entry, but the padlock of the room where the firearms were placed was jammed.
Relatorres said they are still waiting fom the DENR the footage from the close circuit television (CCTV). “Hopefully this will shed light into our investigation and lead us to the suspects,” he said, but said this might take some time because they require footages of scenes recorded Oct. 24 to Nov. 20.
Salvador, who reported the robbery, stated that they left the room locked last Oct. 24 before leaving for a training in Manila and placed the weapons inside the two bed drawers with padlocks.
Inside the drawers were four caliber .45 Thompson submachine guns and six magazines with undetermined number of ammunitions, and one M-16 Baby Armalite and three magazines with 83 ammunitions.
Supt. Romy Palgue, Butuan City Police Office (BCPO) deputy director, stated that based on the evidence presented during the investigation and reports from the station, there was high possibility of an inside job.
“The compound has security gates and only the people inside the DENR have access into that building and into that room. A polygraph examination has been recommended and will be conducted to several of the DENR personnel to help us clear things out together with the CCTV footages,” said Palgue.
Nonito Tamayo, newly appointed officer-in-charge of the DENR regional office, said that they will give the PNP all the support it needs for the investigation but declined to comment if it was an inside job and suggested that they would wait for the results of the investigation. (Erwin Mascarinas / MindaNews)