AFTER a series of robberies and break-ins of establishments in the city, perpetrators are now eyeing high-end subdivisions as their new target, police said Monday.
This was what James Jandayran and his family experienced when they got home at around 9 p.m. last June 6 and found their house ransacked.
“We waited for quite a long time because we could not get in. When we tried to enter through the back door, we found that it was already opened. We saw our things [scattered] all over the place. I knew immediately that we were robbed,” Jandayran said.
He said their laptop, jewelry and other valuables were taken. When asked how much those items cost, Jandayran declined to elaborate.
The Jandayrans are living in Golden Glow Village located near a mall in the uptown area. It is owned by Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PDODC).
Series of robbery
Jandayran said they are the ninth victim of the series of robbery among subdivisions in the area since 2009.
The village’s immediate neighbors are subdivisions also owned by PDODC.
He said there was even a neighbor who was a victim of a break in or ‘akyat bahay’ where a flatscreen television was stolen and other valuable items.
An employee of PDODC who requested not to be named confirmed that there were robbery or break in incidents that happened years back.
She said they were not solely from PDODC’s housing communities but also from other nearby subdivisions like Xavier Estates.
Jandayran complained that the security in the village is inconsistent since there are times that “they (guards) are tight on roving but at times also relaxed.”
PDODC said that homeowners are given the liberty to set the degree of security in their villages whether they are to put closed-circuit television (CCTV) or to add more guards.
At the Golden Glow Village’s case, the PDODC management is still in-charge of the security.
The PDODC employee said the security around the subdivision is dynamic. It is different now than in the past because there is an increasing population in the village.
“We add more guards, annually. But the burglars know the vulnerable places where they can [steal],” the PDODC staff added.
Peril in the wall
Inspector Julius Saluta of the Carmen police said that in their investigation, houses that were broken into have something in common.
“The houses that are just meters away from the walls of the village are the ones that are mainly robbed. In the case of the Golden Glow Village, there are trees that are just next to the wall making it easier for the thieves to get inside the homes,” Saluta said.
He added that there were small footprints and fingerprints found in Jandayran’s house.
“The burglars probably used a kid to get inside and open the door for them. Plus, there was a tree beside the wall that made it easy for these burglars to climb the wall. Actually, pwede ra jud ambakan ang dingding,” Saluta added.
After the incident, Saluta said PDODC has increased its security.
Also, more policemen are deployed in the area to rove not only in Golden Glow Village but also in other subdivisions.
“Previously, burglars break in stores. Now, they are penetrating high-end subdivisions because they know they can get things that can be sold at higher prices such as cellphones, laptops, TVs, among others. These are what the burglars in Cagayan de Oro are doing now,” Saluta said.