BY: VANESSA BUGTONG
Security cameras captured the moment two women and a man stole two bottles of insect repellent from a convenience store in Barangay Loakan Proper on the evening of May 28.
The footage showed the trio entering the store around 6 PM, walking toward the shelves, and taking two 580-gram bottles of insect repellent.
Instead of heading to the counter, one of them slipped the items into their bag and walked out.
Store owner Gilbert Gonzaga only discovered the theft about 30 minutes later. “I noticed something was off, so I checked around. They had already left quickly,” he said.
Upon reviewing the CCTV, Gonzaga confirmed that the stolen items were worth about 1,000 pesos.
He added, “What’s odd is that the other two even paid for some snacks at the counter, probably to avoid suspicion.”
The store immediately reported the incident to police.
Gonzaga shared, “I decided to speak up about it so fellow business owners in Baguio can be more alert.”
Barangay officials confirmed that such incidents are rare in the area. “This is the first time in a while that we’ve had a theft like this,” said Barangay Captain Edouard Emmanuel P. Cayetano.
Councilor Edmond Manuel, who heads the peace and order committee, added, “In most cases like this, the suspects aren’t from our barangay.”
As of writing, the Baguio City Police Office has not yet released an official statement, as investigations are still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the store has implemented a temporary policy of not allowing customers with large bags inside to prevent similar incidents.
