Suspected thieves forcibly open the door and cabinets of the sacristy of San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish in San Pedro City. INQUIRER PHOTO/ROMULO O. PONTE/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON
SAN PEDRO CITY – Unidentified men forced open a local church sacristy here and vandalized religious items.
Church leaders of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish in Barangay San Lorenzo Ruiz, have yet to finish the inventory to identify what items might have been stolen and determine the extent of damage to their properties.
Ricardo N. Lagac, custodian of the church, said he was about to switch off the church lights when he noticed the sacristy’s double steel and wooden doors open around 6 a.m.Tuesday.
A steel bar was used to open the padlock and doorknob of the wooden door.
All the cabinet doors were also cracked open and valuable items like the sound systems, chalices, hosts (not consecrated) were vandalized.
Police investigator Loyd Espejon, said his team was trying to access footages of the security cameras installed around the church to identify the suspected robbers.
Police advised church leaders to be always vigilant and make sure the church entrances were secured.
About two years ago, the same church was a victim of burglary when the CD player used for playing religious music was stolen.