NAGA, Zamboanga Sibugay — A public school teacher lost nearly half a million pesos in savings after burglars broke into her home in a daring daytime burglary on Monday morning, according to authorities.
Police from the Philippine National Police reported that the victim, a resident of Barangay Aguinaldo in the municipality of Naga, personally went to the Naga Municipal Police Station to report that her house had been ransacked.
Based on the initial police report, the teacher left her home at around 7:30 a.m. that day. When she returned at about 11:30 a.m., she discovered that the back door of her house had already been forced open after its lock was destroyed.
Upon entering the house, the victim immediately noticed that a container where she had kept her money was missing. Further inspection revealed that the container — locally known as a takuri — which she had hidden inside a divider cabinet, had been taken by the suspects.
The container reportedly held P480,000 in cash, representing the teacher’s personal savings that she had painstakingly accumulated over time.
Authorities said the house is made of concrete but has no closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, which may complicate efforts to identify the perpetrators.
Investigators believe the suspects may have had prior knowledge of the location of the money inside the house, suggesting the possibility that the burglary was carefully planned. However, police have not ruled out other angles as the investigation continues.
The Philippine National Police has launched a follow-up investigation and is currently gathering possible leads and witnesses that could help identify the suspects behind the incident.
Police also reminded residents to take extra precautions in safeguarding large amounts of cash at home and to install security measures such as surveillance cameras to help deter criminals and assist authorities in investigations.