Arlegui Guest House loses 2 antique jars to thieves

There’s a thief in the Palace with a penchant for stealing national treasures.

Outgoing Press Secretary Noel Cabrera disclosed yesterday that he has ordered a covert investigation into the reported disappearance of two antique jars from the Arlegui Guest House where he holds office.

Cabrera, who steps down as Press Secretary at the end of the month, said an ad hoc probe panel he created to look into the matter was eyeing some maintenance personnel of his office as likely suspects.

Cabrera sought to downplay the theft by saying the jars were not exactly priceless, "just big, decorative garden jars, but nonetheless valuable."

The secretary pointed out that price is not the issue.

"But it’s not the price that matters here," Cabrera said without elaborating.

He said the theft was discovered when a private security guard hired for the OPS reported to him that he tried to prevent a jeepney loaded with jars from leaving the Guest House compound.

The probe team, headed by Director June Versoza of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), made a verbal report on the result of their inquiry.

He said the Versoza committee was consulting with lawyers pertaining to the possible filing of criminal charges against the suspects, whose identities were withheld pending completion of the formal report.

President Arroyo ordered in May last year the transfer of the OPS from the Kalayaan Building at the Palace proper to the Guest House just across the street.

Mrs. Arroyo’s predecessors, Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos, opted to stay at the Guest House as their official residence rather than inside Malacañang even if this was an unnecessary security risk.

Sources told The STAR the loss of the two jars was not the first case of thievery at the Palace, adding that even a crystal chandelier which used to brighten up Kalayaan Hall seemed to have vanished into thin air.

The National Historical Institute has declared Malacañang and every furniture and fixture inside it as national treasures.