MEXICO, Pampanga – Residents of this first-class municipality have expressed concern over what they feared was a spike in robbery cases with at least two recent “high-profile” cases happening within six days, one even resulting to the death of a victim.
Last Sunday evening, May 22, a convenience store in Barangay San Antonio was robbed of its day’s earnings by motorcycle riding suspects.
Police said one of the suspects casually entered the Alfamart store and at gun point took some P60,000 in cash and escaped toward San Simon town on board a Mio 125 motorcycle driven by his cohort who acted as the lookout during the robbery.
No one was hurt in the incident, police added.
In an earlier incident, a head teacher of the Department of Education-Pampanga assigned at the San Lorenzo Elementary School died following injuries inflicted upon him and his family in a robbery at their residence.
Police said last May 16, at around 5:15 a.m., three armed men wearing bonnet barged into the house of Inocencio Cunanan in Barangay Pangatlan, gaining entry by first cutting the combat wire of the backyard fence.
“There and then suspects hit the victims in the head and different parts of their body using said firearms,” police said, naming the victims as Cunanan, his wife and their 18-year-old son, and quoted the suspects as accusing the victims of alleged “greed” over some land and money issues.
Two other Cunanan children, both minors, were listed as witnesses in the police report.
The suspects carted away assorted cellphones, laptop, original copy of OR/CR and one white Toyota Avanza along with the original copy of its official receipt and certificate of registration from the Land Transportation Office.
Cunanan was brought to the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Medical Center in the City of San Fernando but was pronounced dead on arrival by attending physicians.
His wife and son were taken to the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital also in the City of San Fernando by Barangay Pangatlan chairman Romel Tulabut.
Police investigation on both cases is ongoing.
A prominent resident of the town who asked for anonymity called for more vigilant police action “before the situation turns worse” and for the residents to tighten the security of their homes.
“Ang tatapang na ng mga magnanakaw ngayon,” he said. “Sa sobrang kamahal ng bilihin at kawalan ng trabaho, marami na ang nabubuyong (magnakaw).”
