Tourists still being robbed in Ermita

Manila, Philippines -  A few days after Manila Police District officials vowed to curb the incidence of tourists being robbed in Ermita, two Dutch tourists went to the MPD-General Assignment Section to file separate complaints.

Robertos Dagelet, 63, currently billeted at the Hong Tai Lodging House on Adriatico street, reported Thursday that he lost money and a cell phone to a man who robbed him at knifepoint while he was walking in Ermita at around 4 a.m.

At around 9 p.m. Marcel Westerweld, 24, billeted at the Friendly Guesthouse, also on Adriatico street, complained that a certain Jose Fabro, a woman and a couple approached him and introduced themselves to him while he was walking in the area.

He said after a few minutes of talking he had a few drinks with them. When he woke up, he was alone and had lost 200 euros and P3,000.

The two incidents happened after MPD spokesman Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo issued a statement that they were doing everything to protect tourists in the Ermita district, following a report that one tourist in Ermita had been robbed per day over the past several months.