Antipolo police chief Raul Bargamento has been relieved following last week?s pawnshop robbery.

Chief Supt. Perfecto Palad, regional director for Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, said at least P2 million in cash and valuables was taken from the Del Carmen Pawnshop on the Sumulong Highway.

The suspects bore a hole through the wall between a rented house and the shop in Barangay Mayamot.

?I had made myself very clear to my provincial directors and chiefs of police,? Palad said. ?My orders were very specific. They are to conduct security survey and inspection of pawnshops, banks, money changers, lending institutions and similar institutions and to conduct background check on persons living or renting in buildings adjacent to these pawnshops and banks.?

By his reckoning, the break-in was preventable.

?I have already warned my chiefs of police of this kind of modus operandi when we had a conference after our traditional New Year?s call on Jan. 7. I have also given them specific directives on what to do to prevent occurrence of such incidents.?

But Palad said Bargamento?s sacking was an administrative case, which if he hurdles would get him back to his post.

?We cannot afford to have commanders on the ground who cannot implement directives from my office and from higher headquarters.?