St. Michael's image in Argao church loses P40T necklace

The 20-carat gold necklace reportedly worth around P40,000 worn by the image of St. Michael the Archangel in Argao town was reportedly stolen by an unidentified person early morning yesterday while the parish priest was officiating a dawn Mass at the shrine.

Msgr. Jose Montecillo, the parish priest of Argao, owned the necklace that was given to him by a friend when he was ordained as monsignor 12 years ago.

A piece of concrete block was used in smashing the glass urn where the statue of St. Michael the Archangel was placed outside of the shrine.

Police believe that the robber was in a rush as he was only able to take away the necklace, leaving behind the bracelet worn by the image on its left arm. The sword brandished by the image was also said to have been broken.

SPO1 Edwin Miranda said that a witness met along the road to the church an unidentified man who was jogging. Later on, the smashing of glass was heard and when he went to check, the suspect ran away toward a bicycle parked nearby and fled.

The witness reported immediately the incident to the parish convent.

Montecillo, in an interview with dyLA, said that aside from the monetary value of the necklace, it has a sentimental value since it was a gift to him.

Afraid it might get lost in his possession, Montecillo decided to place it around the neck of the image of St. Michael the Archangel in the shrine when he was assigned in Argao.

Montecillo blamed policemen for their alleged failure to respond immediately to the theft alarm, allowing the suspect to flee. This despite the fact that Argao Police Station is "just walking distance from the church." Later on, he learned that there was only one policeman manning the station.

But Miranda denied the report saying it just so happened that other policemen were out on field conducting checkpoint from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

The police are still conducting further investigation to be able to identify the suspect, encouraging other witnesses to come forward. - Gregg M. Rubio