Banks asked to secure ATM machines at night
BANKS in Dagupan have been asked to secure their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) at night following reports of robberies committed against those withdrawing cash in the evening.
Bank executives were invited last week by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to a committee hearing on a proposed legislation seeking to require banks here to protect depositors when they are withdrawing money from ATM machines, especially at night.
Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo, who initiated the hearing, said security guards don’t seem to be posted at ATM machines night, a situation that has been taken advantage of by criminals.
Tamayo noted that the banks also neither have Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) nor alarm systems that could alert the police in emergency situations.
Only ten of the more than 60 banks in Dagupan sent representatives to the hearing. Some of them admitted not having security guards at night outside the bank premises because of cost-cutting measures.
Among the reported victims was the wife of Tamayo who was held up at gunpoint after withdrawing money from an ATM machine, robbed of her bag containing the money, then pistol-whipped and hit in the stomach.
Tamayo said it is part of the banks’ obligation to protect their depositors.
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