Japanese Man Falls Victim To Thieves In Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 8, 2008) – A Japanese national on Wednesday complained to the Philippine police that he lost his wallet and a cellular phone to thieves in Zamboanga City, officials said.

Toshio Nikishita, 37, told police that he lost about P 8,000 in cash and the phone. He said two men bumped him from behind, but ignored them only to discover later that his wallet and phone were gone from his pockets.

Nikishita said the incident occurred at around 12.30 p.m. near the City Hall. He said he was a frequent visitor and had been coming to Zamboanga the past three years. He did not say where he lives in Japan, but Nikishita was apparently disgusted over the incident.

Pickpockets and thieves have victimized many people in downtown, mostly shoppers and students, and in some cases stabbed those who tried to fight off the criminals. (Erico Rosco)

Filipino Brodcaster Fall Victim To Cell Phone Thieves

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 24, 2008) – A Filipino broadcaster himself, became the news, after he reported here that two men who sought his help, stole his cell phones right inside the radio station.

Dennis Lazo, of the Bombo Radyo, told the police that his cell phones were stolen by the duo, who went to the station late Monday to ask for money so they can go back home in Cagayan de Oro City.

Lazo said he discovered his cell phones missing on Tuesday after the two left the radio station. The phones, he said, were inside his drawer. (Romy Bwaga)

Photo: Suspected Cellphone Thieves In Zamboanga City

Suspected thieves are being interrogated at a police station in Zamboanga City after they were arrested for stealing a cell phone in a parked car in the village of San Roque. The phone was later recovered. Some of them had been previously involved in snatching incidents in the village and were spotted breaking into the perimeter fench of the Zamboanga International Airport . (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Raise Penalty For Thieves Of Religios Icon, Solon Urged

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 28 Jul) – Alarmed by the desecration of Catholic churches due to looting in the Philippines, Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte on Saturday said he will push for a new legislation that would raise the penalty for thieves of religious articles.

Under Villafuerte's proposal, the punishment to be imposed for theft or robbery committed within any church, temple or public museum would be higher by two degrees than the applicable penalty for such offenses under existing law.

"The theft of religious icons, and likewise of relics and artistic works that constitute the finest expressions of our culture, traditions and way of life, arouses national indignation. This national indignation should find corresponding utterance in our criminal laws," Villafuerte said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

"This type of larceny threatens the gains we've achieved in establishing our people's links to its past. Where religious objects are stolen, it also outrages our people's sense of the sacred and the holy," Villafuerte said.

The theft of religious icons remains rampant in the country.

Just early this month, a life-size marble statue of San Antonio de Padua, the patron saint of lost articles, was stolen from the San Diego de Alcala Church in Valenzuela City, where the statue has been installed for more than half a century.

The missing icon was later recovered after unidentified men surrendered it to a television network in Manila.

In December last year, a 20-karat gold necklace was stolen from the statue of Saint Michael installed in a church in Argao town in Cebu province in central Philippines.

In November last year, a 30-kilo, century-old bronze bell was seized from a church in Malinta town also in Valenzuela.

In July last year, an 18th century, two-foot image of Saint Vincent Ferrer was taken from one of the oldest Catholic churches in Northern Luzon.

The figure was seized from the belfry of the Saint Vincent Ferrer Church in Dupax del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya province. The church itself is classified as "a national cultural treasure" by the National Commission for Culture and Arts.

"Our heightened sense of history and national identity has not been without adverse side effects. One of the most deplorable is the pilferage of religious icons and cultural artifacts by felons who have found a lucrative market in equally rotten traders in these objects," Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte said the proposed higher penalty is justifiable on the following grounds: The unlawful taking of objects from churches, temples and museums, demonstrates a higher degree of perversity on the part of the offenders.

Churches, temples and museums are open to the public and the objects usually stolen from them are openly displayed. These places are often unguarded since strict security measures are incompatible with their very nature, not to mention that they are not financially equipped to provide an elaborate security system.

Thus, it is easier to gain access to the valuable objects in these places; and the preservation of religious and cultural heritage embodied in religious statues and cultural objects and artifacts is a matter of national and public interest.