Manila mayor fumes over bench theft

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza ordered yesterday the arrest of persons who stole 28 benches from the stretch of Roxas Boulevard in Manila last week.

"The police must arrest the thieves and file charges against them," an angry Atienza said.

He added that no amount of money and effort can improve the city if thieves are out there to steal and destroy.

Atienza also asked Western Police District (WPD), particularly Station 5 which has jurisdiction over the area, to explain why they failed to monitor and prevent the incident. The theft took place on a rainy evening last week. The thieves were on board two trucks.

"Hinahakot daw isa-isa sa truck yung mga upuan, wala man lang pulis na nakakita,"(The benches were hauled into the trucks one at a time, but no policeman saw this)," he noted.

The local government set up a number of wooden benches, which cost P1,500 each, along Roxas Boulevard and at several parks in Manila’s six districts as part of the city’s urban renewal program.

The mayor called on the public, particularly Manileños, to show concern by reporting to authorities individuals who destroy city projects.

Authorities are expecting the immediate arrest of the thieves after witnesses surfaced and divulged the plate numbers of the trucks used in stealing the benches. – Cecille Suerte Felipe