CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Police Regional Office–Northern Mindanao is looking into a possible inside job in the robbery along a national highway in Sitio Miranda, Barangay Damilag, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon on Wednesday.

Police Lt. Col. Rogie Ortencio, Manolo Fortich police chief, said investigators already have persons of interest and are gathering evidence, including CCTV footage from along the highway prior to the attack.

“The suspects were reportedly following the bank vehicle before the attack,” he said.

A significant development in the case came when police operatives, during 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 from the Scene of the Crime Operatives immediately processed the vehicle and collected forensic evidence to support the ongoing probe.

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. Several persons of interest (POIs) have already been identified and are undergoing verification.

Hot pursuit and dragnet operations remain ongoing as authorities continue to track the suspects.

A provincewide manhunt was earlier launched against the armed men who ambushed and robbed a bank teller of about P1.6 million after a brief firefight along the same highway on Wednesday morning.

Police reports said a cash-in-transit teller and a lone security guard were onboard a Toyota Vios from a bank in Libona, Bukidnon bound for a Land Bank branch in Manolo Fortich to deposit P1.677 million in collections.