TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan – A smaller vault inside the cashier’s office was ignored.
Instead, the suspects in the Sunday-evening robbery incident at Cagayan State University-Sanchez Mira campus immediately proceeded to where the bigger vault was located- inside a closed elevated cabinet- and brought it down. Police found blood stains on bond papers scattered around the room near the vault possibly from wounded hands when the suspects forcibly opened and destroyed the vault.
That fateful Saturday, November 5, a long line of students trooped to the cashier’s office to pay their dues. On regular days, the cashier would deposit cash collections in the nearest government bank but because it was a non-working day, the best place to deposit cash would be inside the campus vault which Editha Sanchez, the 64 year old cashier did.
By Monday at 7:30 in the morning, Sanchez Mira Police Station received a report from a CSU instructor, Carlito Pagela, Jr. of a robbery incident which transpired inside the campus.
“I’m looking at the lapses of the guard. It would be impossible nobody heard the loud sound created by the destruction of the vault in less than two hours. It could even be louder in the evening. If the guard did not hear of the noise, that would be very unusual, “ Atty. Honorato Carag, officer-in-charge of the university in an exclusive interview with the Forum, said.
While the police in its report only cited a ‘hard object” used in the forced opening of the vault, Carag was very specific when he said the suspects might have used a bareta de cabra (hooked crowbar).
“They really work hard for it,” he added.
Carag was in Sanchez Mira Monday to checked on the incident and conduct his own personal assessment as requested by Dr. Urdujah Tejada, CSU President who is on official travel.
Police Senior Inspector Antonio Bangayan, Sanchez Mira Chief of Police has certified that it was Jerry Casil, one of the campus’ guards, who discovered the incident on Sunday at 6:00 in the evening when he noticed that the padlock of the accounting office has been scattered to the floor. Casil simply recorded in the guard’s log book what he discovered.
While the police told the University they already have a lead to identify possible suspects, Carag personally thought that if the guards are into it, they could have simply gave the keys to the suspects to open the building and the cashier’s room.
There were six guards, all contractual workers of the school, on duty that night, all of them immediately relieved by the campus executive officer after the incident was discovered.
Carag has toyed on the idea that a child must have been used to open the main side door of the building through a very small window of a comfort room which was likewise smashed and is adjacent to the door.
He said the suspects might have entered at the back gate of the campus and took the same gate when they left based on investigated footprints by the local police.
“It seems like the suspects knew all along where the money is because they ignored the smaller vault after entering the cashier’s office through the adjacent accounting office which glass partition they smashed,” Carag said.
From Vigan City, Dr. Tejada in a phone interview told Northern Forum early evening yesterday said she want a massive yet thorough investigation on the case.
“The police already possessed necessary evidence. We will wait for the results of their investigation, “ she said.
Not included in the police report is the information discovered by Carag that two pages of the guard’s logbook have been ripped apart.
The loot totaled Php 868,451.00 including those for CHED AND ESGP-PA scholars at Php270,000.00 and Php21,000.00, respectively. The rest of the amount came from students’ collection. Benjie De Yro/TNF
