The robbery was discovered by mall employees at 8 am on Saturday.
Robbed were the Camella office, All Shoppe department store and the Core Pacific Money Changer at the Vista Mall Bataan.
The robbers dug their way into the mall by entering into the sewer system, the police said.
“Ang main entry nila ang canal then made diggings until they hit the stockroom of All Shoppe department store,” Supt. Byron Allatog, Balanga City police chief, said.
He said through the canal system, the suspects destroyed the pavement of the stockroom of All Homes Appliances. Once inside, the robbers destroyed the wall of the Camella Homes office on the ground floor.
From the Camella Homes office, the suspects took one laptop, think pad, two Samsung and one Nokia cellphones, Allatog said.
He also said from the stockroom, the robbers entered other areas of the mall through the air-conditioning duct system where they got from the vault of All Shoppe cash worth more than P1.5M.
“Nagtataka kami dahil halos alam ng mga magnanakaw ang duct system kung saan babagsak o papunta sa treasury ng department store. Almost systematic,” Allatog said.
The treasury of the department store is on the second floor. He said the robbers, upon leaving the department store, took away some Timex watches and proceeded to Core Pacific Money Changer, also on the second floor.
The suspects destroyed the locked door, drawer and took P3.1 million cash from the mini-vault of the money changer as well as $29,601, Y60,000 Japanese yen, AD150 Australian dollars, HK$350 Hongkong dollars and 7,900 Saudi Real.
The total loot is more than P7 million, the police chief said. Allatog said based on CCTV footages, there were three men who entered the mall at about 12 midnight on Friday and left at about 3 am Saturday.
“May specific silang target – ang treasury ng department store at ang pawnshop/money changer,” the chief of police said. “Pumasok sila sa sewage system at doon din lumabas,” he said.
He said the first to be known as Termite gang were former miners from the Cordillera. “Termite gang dahil sa ilalim nagbubutas,” he explained.
He said investigations are going on. “We coordinated with the intelligence community of the police in the Cordillera Region. In due time, we will have a lead. Sharing information and coordination ang ginagawa ng Balanga City police, Allatog said.
