Inside job angle eyed in Bukidnon highway bank robbery

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Police in Northern Mindanao are investigating a possible inside job in connection with the robbery of more than P1.6 million from a bank teller in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, on Wednesday.

Police Lt. Col. Rogie Ortencio, chief of the Manolo Fortich Municipal Police Station, said investigators have identified several persons of interest and are gathering evidence, including reviewing CCTV footage along the national highway where the robbery took place.

“The suspects had been following the bank vehicle before the attack,” Ortencio said.

A significant breakthrough came when police operatives conducting hot pursuit operations recovered a black Ford Ranger Wildtrak believed to have been used by the suspects.

The vehicle was found abandoned in Barangay Alae, Manolo Fortich, near the Alae-Tagoloan Bypass Road.

Investigators and Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) personnel processed the vehicle and collected evidence for forensic examination to support the ongoing investigation.

Through OPLAN S.H.I.E.L.D. and sustained intelligence operations, police units have intensified information-gathering and coordination efforts to identify and locate the perpetrators.

Authorities said investigative leads have resulted in the identification of several persons of interest who are now undergoing further verification.

Hot pursuit and dragnet operations remain underway as police continue to track down the suspects.

A province-wide manhunt was launched after armed men ambushed a bank teller and a security guard and carted away P1.677 million in cash along the national highway in Sitio Miranda, Barangay Damilag, Manolo Fortich, on Wednesday morning.

Police said the roving teller and a lone security guard were aboard a Toyota Vios traveling from a bank in Libona, Bukidnon, to the Land Bank branch in Manolo Fortich to deposit the bank's cash collections.

Upon reaching Sitio Miranda along the Sayre Highway, a Ford Ranger pickup carrying armed men reportedly blocked the vehicle and opened fire, hitting the windshield and tires of the sedan.

The security guard reportedly returned fire but eventually ran out of ammunition. No injuries were reported during the exchange of gunfire.

Two of the suspects then approached the vehicle and took a duffel bag containing P1.677 million at gunpoint before fleeing the scene.

Police said the investigation remains ongoing as authorities pursue all possible leads.