Burglars struck thrice on Monday with two cases reported to authorities in Quezon City and the third in Navotas City.
The first occurred at 4 a.m. in Diamond Village, Novaliches, Quezon City, and was reported by a couple who said there had been four previous attempts to break into their house.
Buenaventura Adriano Jr. and his wife said that they were sound asleep in their bedroom when they were awakened by the noise made by the lone burglar who pointed a gun at them.
The thief then ransacked the room and made off with P2 million worth of valuables, including wristwatches, other pieces of jewelry, gadgets and cash.
The couple described the burglar as a man between the ages of 32 and 36, 5’3” in height and with fair skin.
Case investigator PO2 George Caculba said the thief slipped into the house by entering through a bathroom window.
Insp. Alan de la Cruz, theft and robbery chief of the Quezon City Police District, said that Monday’s incident was the fifth time for the house to be targeted by burglars.
“Three were botched attempts and in one instance, two burglars were caught but the couple forgave them,” De la Cruz said.
The second incident in Quezon City was reported by a housemaid who called the police after she found the front door of the house open upon her return.
Case investigator SPO3 Leila Agati said the still unidentified thieves stole valuables such as jewelry and gadgets worth P451,000.
The break-in was discovered at 3 p.m. on Monday in the house of Marissa Alvarez, 48, on Don Diego Street at Don Antonio Heights.
Alvarez told the police that she lost a video camera, four camera lenses, a pearl jewelry set, a wristwatch, a pair of earrings and a ring.
The police said the burglars got into the house by sawing off a window’s iron grills.
In Navotas City, thieves took advantage of the summer break to break into a school.
Officials of Kaunlaran National High School in Phase 1A, Dagat-Dagatan, Kaunlaran Village, told the police that someone broke into the property room over the weekend by smashing the glass windows.
Susie Abordaje, the school property custodian, said they discovered the break-in only on Monday morning.
Missing was the school’s liquid crystal display projector estimated to be worth around P30,000.
The police have yet to identify the burglars based on the fingerprints they recovered at the crime scene.
This is the second school under the Northern Police District’s jurisdiction to report a robbery during the summer break. During Holy Week, thieves broke into a public school in Malabon City and took about P7,000 in cash. Julie M. Aurelio and Nathaniel R. Melican