British lawmaker's hotel room burglarized

MANILA, Philippines - A member of the British parliament became a victim of a burglary at her hotel room in Quezon City Friday.

Helen Grant, 50, told police she lost her purse containing two credit cards, 115 euros, and 20 British pounds. The burglary at Grant’s room at the Sulo Riviera Hotel in Barangay Central was discovered Friday afternoon, said Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo Jr., commander of the Quezon City Police District-Station 10.

Initial investigation showed that Grant left and locked her hotel room at past 9 a.m. Friday to attend to her scheduled appointments. But when she returned at around 4 p.m. the same day, her purse was no longer on top of the room table where she had left it.

In the police report, it was stated that three hotel employees – Ghener Ilagan, Gerwin Corbeta, and Noriel Pangantihon – have been invited for questioning regarding the missing purse.

Pedrozo said these employees could not be considered yet as suspects, and the incident is still being investigated.

Grant and other European lawmakers are here in the country to visit urban poor communities in Metro Manila as part of a study tour organized by the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development.

The tour is locally hosted by the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development, a group that supports the passage of the Reproductive Health bill.