Malabon City Hall burglarized

At least three councilors, a legal officer, and the business permit office lost cash and valuables in a series of burglaries at the Malabon City Hall early this week.

Police Officer 2 Jorge de La Cruz said the last break-in occurred Wednesday at the fifth floor of the new 11- story City Hall building.

Thieves stole a laptop and a digital camera worth a total of P80,000 from the office of Councilor Antolin Oreta, younger brother of Mayor Canuto Oreta.

The same day, the office of Councilor Ian Emmanuel Borja reportedly lost a laptop worth P75,000 to thieves.

The City Hall personnel discovered the burglary when they reported for work in the morning.

Last Monday, the office of Councilor Ricky Bernardo was also found looted. The councilor lost a personal play station worth P12,000.

On the same day, the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) also discovered that some P15,000 of its collection was missing.

Also last Monday, lawyer Erick Sevilla’s office was also robbed of P1,500 cash in his table’s drawer.

Senior Superintendent Ramon de Jesus, Malabon City police chief, said the City Hall’s security chief Melencio Asidao, who has free access to all the rooms in P380-million building, which is still under construction, has a lot of explaining to do.

“We are looking into inside job angle and the City Hall security chief is now the main object of our investigation,” De Jesus told The STAR.

De Jesus said that also included in their investigation are employees who have keys to the offices that were looted.

“Most of the offices that were burglarized have no sign of forced entry,” De Jesus also said.

De Jesus said that the Northern Police District-Scene of the Crime Operatives (NPD-SOCO) processed the crime scenes for evidence, which may lead to the identification of the suspects.

The construction of the new Malabon City Hall building is expected to be finished by April.