MANILA, Philippines鈥擝urglars broke into a branch of Union Bank but went home empty-handed when they failed to open the vault at around 10 p.m. Wednesday, along E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue at the corner of A. Mabini Street in Quezon City.
Security guard Aranuez Aproniano discovered the burglary attempt when he opened the bank and found the tools the robbers left behind. He immediately reported the incident to the manager and police. The branch suspended its operations on Thursday, to give way to the investigation.
Senior Police Officer 4 Alan de la Cruz, chief of the Quezon City Police District鈥檚 anti-theft and robbery unit, said the thieves 鈥渄idn鈥檛 get a cent from the vault鈥� and left the saw, screwdrivers and other tools they used in their failed attempt to rob the bank.
Investigation showed that the robbers climbed the side wall of the building and bore a hole through the roof and the ceiling with a hacksaw. The hold could allow the passage of one person at a time.
鈥淭he thieves did not succeed in opening the vault. They must have underestimated the security system of the bank,鈥� De la Cruz added.
Appliances and office equipment were left untouched by the robbers.鈥淚t appears that they didn鈥檛 get a thing,鈥� he said.
The motion sensor near the vault triggered an alarm but witnesses who lived beside the bank said that they dismissed it because they didn鈥檛 see anything suspicious at the bank鈥檚 entrance.
There was no guard on duty as the bank closed daily at 5:45 p.m. Police were reviewing the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at press time to identify the robbers.