A UTILITY worker of the Pinamungajan town hall was charged with robbery for the Aug. 31 burglary of the municipal treasurer’s office.
Jose Ordinez and two unidentified persons stand accused of stealing P351,778.19 in government funds and a laptop worth P35,000.
Police filed the charges with the Cebu provincial prosecutors office and called the robbery an inside job.
A bus conductor testified that he saw Ordinez and two cohorts at the back door of the Pinamungahan municipal building at 2:30 a.m. of Aug. 31.
But the witness, who went inside the municipal hall to wash himself, didn’t see the actual robbery.
Pinamungahan police said the robbers seemed to know where the money was placed.Police interviewed the town hall’s job order employees.
After an “elimination process” of probable suspects, police zeroed in on Ordinez, said PO3 Marciano Suarez, one of the investigators, in his affidavit.
Ordinez was asked him to show his wallet and cellphone. Inside, he had had P8,550 but “cannot justify where he got that, considering that he’s only receiving P1,146 every 15th and 30th of the month.”
The messages on Ordinez’s cellphone were also deleted.
Suarez said they searched Ordinez’s residence with his permission and didn’t find any stolen items, however.
Suarez said they sent Ordinez’s cellphone to the Cyber Anti-Crime Office for recovery of the messages.
Ordinez, who remains free, will be asked to submit his counter-affidavit. Aside from Pinamungahan, the towns of Compostela, Carmen and Sogod and Toledo City lost government money to burglars.
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