CEBU CITY – Police are still facing a blank wall in the robbing and burning down of the office of a controversial religious group in Compostela, Cebu the other day.
Police Capt. Ian Macatangay, chief of the Compostela Police Station, said they have yet to establish leads that would determine why the office of Kabus Padatoon Community Ministry International was burned down past 1 a.m. last Saturday.
“We are still wondering why the perpetrators had to burn down the office if the motive was only robbery,” Macatangay said.
The burning of the office happened on the same day that President Duterte warned Kapa to cease operations as he accused the group of engaging in investment scam.
Kapa has been recruiting government workers to invest with them in exchange for a 30 percent monthly return.
Macatangay said at least 10 men, who were armed with long firearms, arrived in the office, which stood in a gated area. “The culprits destroyed the gate before they barged into the office,” said Macatangay.
The perpetrators took the belongings of at least 21 stay-in workers and also carted away a vault containing an undetermined amount of money. “The workers failed to call the police immediately because they were locked up in a room,” said Macatangay.
The office had two security guard but they were sleeping at the back of the office when the incident happened.
The robbers set the office on fire before escaping on motorcycles. The workers managed to get out of the office unharmed.
Macatangay said the perpetrators looked for branch manager Christopher Abad, who was not around at the time.
“They were also looking for some documents. We are still trying to get the statement of the manager. We will check if he had previous dealings with people that may helped us determine possible motives,” added the police officer.
Macatangay added that Scene-of-the-Crime Operatives failed to extract any fingerprints, while footage of security cameras couldn’t clearly show the faces of the perpetrators.
The Kapa in Compostela has been operating despite being issued with a closure order by Mayor Joel Quino for lack of necessary permits.
Kapa’s certificate of corporate registration has been revoked by the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Calvin D. Cordova)