City truck used to steal scrap iron

CEBU, Philippines - It’s ironic, don’t you think?

A utility worker of the Cebu City government and two junkshop workers are now detained in the Mambaling Police Station after they were reportedly caught stealing scrap iron and metal from the South Road Properties.  Their getaway vehicle? A boom truck owned by the city government.

Police identified the suspects as Danilo Abella, 33, of Bontores St., Barangay Basak-San Nicolas, Cebu City; Geovanni Villacora, 27, of Tugas San Roque, Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City; and Melchor Ortega, 50, of Sitio Mangga of the same barangay.

Abella works as a trip ticket maker of the General Services Office of the Cebu City government while Villacora and Ortega are both workers of JM Junkshop along SRP access road in Barangay Mambaling.

According to the police report, around 2:50 a.m. yesterday, Ricky Sultan, 39, of Caballers Security Agency and Jerrymias Vallego, 33 of Maya Security Agency, the security guards on duty at the SM SRP construction site, called up the Mambaling Station and reported that they arrested the three.

The three allegedly tried to run off with 16 sacks of scrap iron, a gas tank, an oxygen tank and an oxygen acetylene cutter in boom truck owned by the government with license plate numbers SJM-960.

Mayor Michael Rama’s chief of staff Phillip Zafra said with such a grave offense Abella is automatically terminated as a job order employee of the city government.

Zafra, also head of the City’s Civil Security Unit, also said the scrap iron was allegedly owned by the WTG Construction but they have yet to confirm this.

He said although this was an isolated case, part of the investigation is to check whether or not there is a need to improve the security plan of the SRP.

The suspects and evidence regarding this case are now under the custody of the Mambaling Police Station.  — (FREEMAN)