Sinas: Robbery, arson of KAPA Compostela office an inside job

The KAPA-Ministry Community International office has been gutted by fire after robbers.| Photo courtesy of Compostela police

CEBU CITY, Philippines — “It was an inside job.”

This was how Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director, described the robbery and arson that happened last June 8 at the KAPA-Community Ministry International office in Compostela town in northern Cebu.

Sinas said during a press briefing at the PRO-7 office on June 10 that an inside man possibly informed the robbers about the location of the two vaults, which carried an undetermined amount of cash that was stolen from the building.

Read more: KAPA workers lose P150K to armed men; task group eyed to probe Compostela robbery

Sinas said that the 21 employees of KAPA, who were at the office during the robbery, were already identified as persons of interest and would be thoroughly interviewed about the incident that happened last June 8.

“We have to clear them out before we move on to another group. We have to eliminate them, if not, they are still persons of interest,” Sinas said.

But he said that they were also still waiting Christopher Abad, the manager of the building, to talk to the police.

Previous reports said that five men were involved in the robbery, but Sinas said that there were around 8 to 10 men, who were involved in the robbery since according to the 21 employees, they were dispersed in different rooms inside the buildings.

There are three buildings in the compound of the KAPA in Compostela town with two buildings destroyed when the two of the 10  robbers set the two buildings on fire.

Read more: Duterte wants Kapa, other investment scams probed, shut down

Aside from that the robbery happened a day after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered an investigation of KAPA  and to shut it down if found that their operation was a scam.

Read more: PNP: Case build-up ongoing vs Kapa, other investment scams

On Monday, June 10, the police and the National Bureau of Investigation had already started doing a case buildup against KAPA.

Also at past 1 p.m. on June 10, police served a search warrant to the representative of the KAPA-Community Ministry International in Compostela town and confiscated records and documents used in their operations.

The search warrant was issued by Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 20 Judge Marivic Basili Umali  against KAPA for violation of Section 26 or the Fraudulent Transactions section of the Securities Regulation Code of the Philippines.

Read more: RSOG, NBI-7 search Kapa office; confiscate members records

Sinas also said that three non-commissioned police officers in Cebu, whom he refuse to identify, could possibly be disarmed after they were found to be members of the organization — KAPA-Community Ministry International.

He said that they would be brought to his office to be interrogated.

“I will disarm them. We mean business here,” Sinas said./dbs