Thief breaks into Office of Civil Defense HQ at Camp Aguinaldo

A thief broke into the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s Office of Civil Defense headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo on Friday.

According to a source, the theft happened around noon in the Office of Civil Defense building’s second floor, where the executive offices were located.

The source refused to identify the victims of the theft.

After the first Friday Mass held on the first floor of the OCD building, the source said, two cell phones and two wallets with cash amounting to about P30,000 had been found to be missing.

The suspect was described as a dark, old man.

“’Yung first floor, doon ginagawa ’yung Mass. Diyan ’yung message center. Daluyan ng tao ’yun. ’Di ba talagang may mga tao na you don’t know na palabas pasok sa first floor because ’yung message center andun. According to those who attended the Mass, they thought nakiki-join lang sa Mass or hihingi ng tulong dun sa pari. Parang ganun yung akala nila,” the source said of the suspect.

The Mass was intended for OCD personnel, but it was also open to everyone.

NDRRMC spokesperson Mina Marasigan, meanwhile, said investigation of the incident was underway.

“There is an ongoing investigation by the military police and internal security of the OCD,” she said.

It would be reported to the police after the results and recommendations of the investigation were released, she added.

In 2012, burglars also broke into the soldiers’ barracks at Camp Aguinaldo near the official residence of then Armed Forces chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa.

A car of a military officer of the AFP Dental Service was also stolen in the same year.

Last year, a school principal and two teachers lost digital cameras and other items worth about P16,000 to thieves at Camp Aguinaldo High School. Frances Mangosing/RC