Lessons Learned

This is a true story and should serve as a warning to everyone. I could not believe it happened to me.

Last June 28 (Saturday), I had lunch at Jollibee Lipa City with my aunt and fiance. We were seated in the middle of the food place and I placed my orange bag on the chair beside me (on my right). When we were nearly finished with our meal, a guy in his mid-30s, wearing a grey shirt and jeans came up to us and asked if the car parked in front was ours. Since our car was not blocking other cars and it was parked legally in front of the entrance, we were surprised why this guy was asking us that question. Our attention was focused on him and on the car and we were all looking left to check if there is anything wrong with the car. He didn't even wait for our answer and he left immediately and walked quickly outside. We were all still wondering what exactly happened when I noticed that my bag was nowhere to be found. I told everyone that my bag was missing and raised our concern to the manager so they can search the premises. They searched the toilets and trash bins but could not find my bag.

Unfortunately, my car key, our passports, 3 mobile phones, 2 digicams, 1 ipod, my wallet + other stuff were all in there. I couldn't even cry because I could not believe it was happening. I wanted them to call the police but the manager wanted to keep it hush-hush because he's saying it's a private company and they don't want bad publicity. But later I found out that this is a common incident in the area and they even found a black clutch bag in the toilet with important documents of a person from Las Pinas. This modus operandi was actually rampant in the area because some of the crew were telling me that we should just wait for a while and eventually our important stuff (e.g. passports) would turn up somewhere. My aunt kept on calling my mobile phone and sent text messages pleading the thieves to return our passports and car keys. I didn't even dare to think of the hassle and inconvenience we would have to go through to apply for new passports, visas, ATM cards, credit cards, IDs, license, etc.

Since the Jollibee management didn't want to call the police, my aunt went to the police station to report the incident while me and my fiance stood in front of the car (if in case someone would attempt to steal it). There was one Jollibee crew who was helpful enough to park his motorcycle in front of my car to hinder anyone from stealing it.

But during the time my bag was stolen, Jollibee's sole security guard was nowhere to be found and when he came back we questioned him. He said he had to check the delivery at the kitchen area. I was really disappointed with the way the management was handling the situation. They weren't much help at all. At this point, we were already suspicious with everyone and frustrated with the incident.

After two hours, someone from Caltex Star Tollway gas station called my mom saying they found our passports and car key in the trash bin. We quickly went there and found my wallet, car key, and our passports. I was relieved but at the same time REALLY, REALLY angry at the people who did this. We figured out they wanted money and valuable items but had a tiny bit of conscience to return important documents.

Still, it made me realize how some people are desperate enough to steal and commit crimes for the sake of a thousand pesos.

We reported this to the police and until now they are investigating the issue.

So lessons learned ---
1. Manila is not Singapore - you cannot leave your bags on the chair beside you (within your peripheral vision).
2. There are a lot of people desperate enough to commit crimes so be very careful when you are in public places.>
3. Don't put all your belongings in one bag especially when travelling.
4. Be vigilant.
5. Last but not the least, wag tatanga-tanga.