Thieves strike during bridal fashion show, take models’ gear

Thieves took advantage of the commotion during preparations for a hotel bridal fashion show to steal high-end electronic gadgets, jewelry and cash worth close to P200,000 in Makati City on Wednesday.

Bridal gown retailer Jacqueline Periquet, 33, of Salcedo Village in Makati City, filed a complaint in a Makati City police station claiming that six of her companions, including two fashion models, a modeling agency owner, and a photographer, were robbed of their belongings at the Joaquin Guerrero holding room of the Manila Peninsula Hotel along Makati Avenue in Barangay Urdaneta.

PO2 Julio Valle Jr, of the Makati City police station investigation and detective management branch, said the thieves could have stolen the items sometime between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. during the fashion show at the hotel’s conservatory function room.

Valle said that before the incident, Periquet and her group left their belongings inside the holding room to join the fashion show.

Make-up artist Janina Dizon, who was the last to leave the room, however, forgot to lock the door.

When the group returned two hours later, they discovered their belongings were missing.

Commercial model Joy Hendrickson said she lost a Macbook Air laptop computer, her Blackberry phone and P3,000 in cash; Tanya Dizon of Aleo modeling agency  also lost P5,000 in  cash; ramp model Maffy Soler lost a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone; modeling agency staff Bernice Recto, a Toshiba laptop computer; fashion photographer Owee Salva, his professional camera lens, while Dizon  lost a diamond ring and P2,000  in cash.

Valle said the thieves could have discovered   the unlocked  door to the room and helped themselves to the belongings inside.

He said  he has requested the hotel’s security manager, Raul Mangubat, for copies of the hotel’s closed circuit television footage to check the suspects’ identities.