CEBU, Philippines - The police are now investigating the “mysterious disappearance” of the donation box of the “Birhen sa Balikatan” that was believed to be stolen from Tabogon Municipal Hall Tuesday night.
Police Officer 3 Epifanio Comedido, Tabogon Police Station investigator, said that Gloria Duterte, the wife of Tabogon Mayor Zigfred Duterte, informed the police about the incident.
Comedido said that a certain Jose Montebon, who is in-charge of closing and opening the Tabogon Municipal Hall, last saw the box past 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning, when the image was about to be brought to Medellin town, a parishioner wanted to drop donations was surprised when the donation box was not there anymore.
They initially thought that Tabogon municipal employees secured the box, which was also set to be brought to Medellin.
But when they arrived in Medellin, they were concerned upon knowing that the box was missing and nobody knew where it was.
The donation box is a small wooden-box locally called a “gantangan.”
Police are eyeing an inside job if it turned out to be burglary because they could not find a trace of forced-entry in the municipal hall.
However, the Tabogon Municipal Hall does not have a closed-circuit television camera, making it harder for investigators to determine whether the box was stolen.
Comedido believes that somebody must have been eyeing the donation box thinking that there must be a substantial amount inside since the “Birhen sa Balikatan” is visiting 13 towns and the city of Danao every year.
“Basin nabantayan ba nga dinagko ang gihulog basin gisundan nila unya diri lang nakakita og timing,” Comedido said.
Personnel who were fixing the air conditioning units who have access to the municipal hall have been invited for questioning but the investigation yielded negative results.
“Mohimo lang ta og profiling sa mga lalaki kay so far sa nahibaw-an namo nagtrabaho raman sila, wala pod daw sila’y kalibotan,” Comedido added.
As of press time, the police do not know the amount contained in the box. (FREEMAN)