FOR 68-year-old Editha, the P21,450 she carried in her envelope was more than just money.
It was her hard-earned savings, set aside for the bone chamber of her deceased husband.
But what began as an ordinary jeepney ride home turned into a painful loss after two unidentified women allegedly gained her trust and took the money from her while they were traveling through Cebu City.
Editha said she was on her way home when the two women approached her and told her they were also heading to Basak.
“Nagsakay mi sa Taboan, duol sa Caltex. Sige man og ingon ang duha ka babaye nga paingon sila sa Basak, mao nga niingon ko nga magkuyog na lang ta,” Editha said.
(We boarded the jeepney in Taboan, near Caltex. The two women kept saying they were headed to Basak, so I told them we could go together.)
The women allegedly struck up a conversation with Editha, eventually talking about an upcoming shipment of solar panels.
They allegedly told her that a large amount of money was inside a brown envelope connected to the shipment.
Amid the conversation, Editha did not realize that the money inside her own envelope — P21,450 she had carefully saved for her husband’s bone chamber — was allegedly being taken.
The three women eventually got off at an intersection in Basak, between Shopwise and Metro.
It was only afterward that Editha realized her money was missing.
The loss left Editha distraught.
Crying and trembling, she approached Mark Francis Gabuya Lim, a Traffic Aide 1 of the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), who was on duty in the area.
“Sumala kang Nanay Editha, ni doul siya nako samtang nag-duty ko ug nangayo og tabang kay duha ka babaye ang nakakuha sa iyang kwarta. Nag-hilak na siya,” Lim said.
(According to Nanay Editha, she approached me while I was on duty and asked for help because two women had taken her money. She was already crying.)
Wanting to help, Lim immediately took Editha on his motorcycle and tried to look for the two women.
But they were already gone.
Lim then brought Editha to the Basak San Nicolas Barangay Hall so the incident could be recorded in the barangay blotter and she could receive assistance.
Lim said he could not say exactly what happened inside the jeepney as they traveled from Taboan to Basak.
What he knew was that Editha needed help — and that the money she had lost carried a deeply personal purpose.
The case has since been referred to barangay officials for further investigation. / ABC