Maid caught on video stealing from employer

MANILA, Philippines - A newly hired house helper, seen on surveillance camera footage stealing from her employer in Caloocan City Sunday night, was arrested in an entrapment operation before dawn yesterday.

Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano, city police investigation chief, said Anabelle Tibalao, 27, yielded two bags containing items stolen from her employer, Jenelyn Correa, when she was arrested at around 3:20 a.m. outside a mall in Alabang. Police officers, however, said they did not recover the P650,000 stolen from Correa.

Tibalao started working as Correa’s maid on Nov. 9 but went missing on Nov. 11, along with Correa’s bank cards, cell phones, high-end bags, jewelry and money. Tibalao was caught by the village’s surveillance camera carrying items out of Correa’s house in Barangay 58, going back at least three times.

Senior Superintendent Rimas Calixto, city police chief, advised Correa to contact Tibalao using a different mobile phone and pretend to be another person looking for a helper. A team led by Police Officer 2 Romel Bautista arrested Tibalao when she agreed to meet her new “employer.” – Pete Laude, Jerry Botial