By: Angelica Arquero
Three unidentified men were caught on camera looting a small store in Barangay Puguis in the early hours of June 2.
The suspects took cash, cigarettes, canned goods, bread, and even packs of men’s briefs before fleeing the scene.
CCTV footage showed two of the suspects arriving at the store around 1:50 AM.
Moments later, a third man joined them.
After initially failing to break the lock on the roll-up door, they noticed the CCTV and tilted it away to avoid being recorded during the break-in.
Almost 30 minutes later, the men managed to enter the store and took items worth thousands of pesos.
“They took around 13,000 pesos in cash, packs of cigarettes, canned goods, bread, and even briefs,” said Lisa, the store owner. “It’s really stressful, knowing that they didn’t just take small items. But I try not to dwell on it because nothing will change if I let it affect me too much.”
Lisa said this was the second time this year that their store was targeted, but this is the first time the robbers made off with money.
“The first time, we thought it was okay because they only got some items and no cash,” she said. “But when we reviewed the footage this time, we saw that they took so much more. It was disappointing and made me lose motivation. Still, I told myself it’s okay, things can be replaced.”
She added, “Even if they can’t return the cash, I just hope they would reach out and settle things somehow. We suspect they might be the same people who robbed us before. If they’re minors, maybe they can still make amends.”
Residents in the area said their stores had also been broken into in the past.
“We’ve all been robbed here before,” said resident Annalyn Abance. “I just hope we recognize them if they ever come back.”
Abance urged authorities to act. “People here are suffering. These thieves need to be caught and jailed so they’ll stop what they’re doing.”
Barangay officials confirmed this was already the tenth robbery incident reported in Puguis this year.
Keifer Jay Shagol, SK Chairman of Barangay Puguis, admitted that theft cases in the area have been rising.
“We had another reported case just this Sunday. The problem is that many residents don’t report the incidents to us,” he said.
He also acknowledged that poor lighting and broken CCTV units around the area may be contributing to the crimes. “Some of the barangay’s CCTVs are under repair. As for streetlights, we’re doing our best to fix the broken ones and report them to Beneco. Our barangay tanods are patrolling, but maybe they just haven’t caught anyone in the act.”
The incident has yet to be formally reported to the La Trinidad Municipal Police Station.
Meanwhile, barangay authorities are expected to increase patrols in the area.
