Salt trader robbed in Navotas

MANILA, Philippines - A bulk supplier of salt to producers of smoked fish (tinapa) was robbed by two unidentified men in Navotas City Thursday.

Cherissa Decena, 53, of Tondo, Manila told The STAR yesterday she lost around P45,000 as well as her cell phones and identification and ATM cards to the robbers.

Decena said she had just delivered some 500 sacks of salt (P135 per sack) sourced from Pangasinan to a client and was on her way out of the fishport at around 3:35 p.m. Thursday when she was robbed along Road 10 in North Bay Boulevard South, Navotas City.

On her way home, she rode in a rented truck that delivered the salt to her client at the fishport. The truck driver allegedly told her to get off on Road 10 and from there take a jeepney to Divisoria.

She said she did as she was told and saw a jeepney parked nearby. She was looking at the route painted on the side of the jeepney when two men approached her, poked something in her back, and threatened to kill her.

Overcome by fear, she said she quickly gave them her bag, which contained her cash and valuables. The robbers then walked away.

Decena said she did not get a good look at the robbers as she feared for her life. She said the robbery was caught by a surveillance camera installed in the area, and she hopes the police will arrest the robbers soon.

She said this incident will not deter her from continuing with the business. “I’ll just be careful and bring a companion,” she said.