Vacationing OFW loses P200K to armed robbers

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines - A vacationing overseas worker on Tuesday lost more than P200,000 worth of cash and other valuables to burglars, police said Wednesday.

The victim, 66-year-old widow Fe Paclibar, told investigators the gunmen barged into her house in Barangay New Iloilo here while she was in a nearby chapel for a prayer service.

The suspects took her mobile phone, a camera and jewelry kept in a decorative box inside her room.

The suspects also forced their way into the house of Paclibar’s neighbor, John Almira, whom they divested of cash, and high-end cellular phones, before they scampered away.

Almira was also out of their house when the robbers attacked.

Investigators said the burglars entered the two houses by destroying the safety knobs of entrance doors using carpentry tools.

Witnesses confirmed seeing two men casually walk away from the adjoining houses of Paclibar and Almira, but assumed they could be either be guests of the two robbery victims, or were just passersby.