Nine killed in Philippine bank robbery

MANILA (Reuters) - Robbers shot dead nine employees of a Philippine bank south of Manila on Friday and emptied its vault, and police said they suspected two security guards who were missing.

Ricardo Padilla, police chief of the Calabarzon region, said the bodies of eight employees of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation were found on the floor of the bank, with bullet wounds to the head.

One of the bank's three guards died on way to hospital and the bank's operations manager was fighting for his life in a nearby hospital, Padilla said. He said the chief suspects were the two guards who were missing.

"They were murdered in gangland-style, each one shot in the head," he said.

"We're still investigating and we have no idea how much money was taken from the bank. We suspect a possible inside job because those behind this heinous crime killed all possible witnesses who could identify them."

Police found the bank's vault open and empty.

Padilla said the police were alerted when the bank did not open on time on Friday as dozens of customers waited outside.

(Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Alex Richardson)