Caretaker steals 70 cocks worth P800,000 from Quezon farm

LUCENA CITY – The caretaker of a game fowl farm in Lucban town in Quezon province stole 70 fighting cocks worth P800,000 a game fowl farm on Wednesday, police reported.

A report from the Quezon police said Edgardo Abustan, owner of Lucban Game Farm in Barangay (village) Aliliw reported to Lucban police around 9 p.m. that he lost 30 matured fighting cocks worth P20,000 each and 40 two-month old cocks worth P5,000 each.

Abustan discovered the robbery when he received information from a friend that his fighting cocks were being sold in Pagbilao town by his former farm caretaker, Reynaldo de la Cruz, who left the farm and abandoned his work on March 1.

After conducting an inventory of his game fowl, Abustan found that his cocks were missing.

Police conducted an operation in Pagbilao to arrest the suspect but he escaped. Authorities were able to recover only six cocks which were left by the suspect.

The victim identified his animals based on their breed and wing bands. /lb