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MANILA - The chief of the Makati Police on Monday said combined forces of the Alvin Flores and Colangco groups were behind a daring noontime robbery at a posh shopping mall in the country's financial district Sunday.

Chief Inspector Dennis Macalintal said Sunday's robbery at a Rolex store in Greenbelt 5 mall had all the markings of the notorious criminal syndicate. "That is their modus operandi. Members of the [Alvin Flores group] wear black fatigues and bomb squad uniforms and masks," Macalintal told ABS-CBN.

He said at least 10 robbers attempted to rob the Rolex store at the mall, according to CCTV footage taken at the site. One of the robbers was killed after two police escorts of Taguig City Mayor Sigfredo “Freddie” Tinga chanced upon the heist.

One civilian who was injured during the incident is now stable and is scheduled to be discharged from the Makati Medical Center. Police identified the victim as Rino Tolentino.

Tinga said that his two escorts, Senior Police Officer 1 Cesar Tiglao and PO1 Efren Ceniza, saw the suspects who were already inside the luxury watch shop smashing the glass cases of the store.

“So they chanced upon these guys. Even if they were wearing bomb squad uniforms, policemen in broad daylight don’t go around breaking down the windows of a shop… When that happened, iyon na nga, nag-react na iyong police naming. That started the fight,” said Tinga.

He said his escorts told him that the incident was noticeably irregular so his policemen reacted. Tinga also said that his escorts told him the robbers were armed with high-powered firearms.

“Well they are saying: Nakita namin ito di ito regular, hold up ito. And after that nakipagputukan na,” said the city mayor.

“No training exercise”

Tiglao said the 2 members of his security detail were going up to the second floor of the mall when they looked at the ground floor and the shop.

“Binabasag nila ang display glass at nilalagay sa bag ang mga Rolex. Sabi ko...di gawain to ng matinong tao...kaya pinaputukan na namin,” said Tiglao.

'Pagtingin naming ganyan, sabi ko: ‘Pare di ito field training exercise. Totoo ito!’ Kaya pinutukan na naming agad,” said Tiglao.

The policeman said they tried to stop the ongoing heist by firing at the direction of the shop.

One of the suspects was shot dead by Ceniza on the head

The armed robbers however returned fire and rained bullets on the two who hid behind a concrete column of the mall.

“Palitan kani ng putok. Noong naubusan na kami ng bala medyo lumayo kami ng kaunti,” said Ceniza in an interview.

High-powered firearms

According to reports, the suspects who wore police uniforms carried M14 and M16 automatic rifles as well as a grenade launcher.

“Puro high-powered firearms. Iyong isa nilang nabaril actually had a grenade launcher, an M203. These are not just petty criminals,” said Tinga.

The suspect who was killed was wearing a black shirt with EOD (Explosive Ordinance Division) printed at the back of the shirt. The slain robber has not yet been identified.

Tiglao and Ceniza said the firefight lasted about 5 minutes before the armed suspects made their escape leaving behind the body of one of the robbers.

Authorities temporarily closed Greenbelt 5 as Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) conducted its investigation. The mall was reopened to the public on Sunday.

Earlier reports said that 11 suspects, one of whom was a woman, were involved in the robbery. Five of them reportedly served as lookouts on the second floor.

'Possible surge in crime'

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, in a statement after the incident, meanwhile suggested that authorities “should anticipate a possible surge in brazen and high-profile criminal activities because of the hard times, especially after typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.”

Binay said the brazenness of the recent incident “is alarming” as it occurred almost noontime and in one of the posh malls of the financial district.

Binay said the incident “highlights the importance of vigilance and preparedness.”

Police were still investigating the incident and have not identified the suspects.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com