Persons who ransacked the Public Order and Safety Management Office (POSMO) in Iloilo City were identified by authorities. Stolen items were returned.
The burglars were identified through a recording that they themselves had taken while playing a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera left at the office.
As the suspects were of minor ages, the police facilitated a “rescue.”
Five of six suspects were rescued, according to Executive Master Sergeant Rina Salaya, investigator at Iloilo City Police Station 1.
Salaya said the police waited for the youngsters’ school classes to be over prior to facilitating the “rescue.”
The minors are all residents of Barangay Muelle Loney, Iloilo City. Two of them are nine years old, while the other three are 10 years old, 11 years old, and 13 years old. Their other cohort is not yet located, as of posting time.
The minors admitted to the burglary at POSMO, police said, and returned the three laptops, a cellphone, a vape, and a bird cage that they had carted away.
Based on the investigation, the youngsters first sneaked inside POSMO on September 21, 2024 and ate what food items they found. The group returned in the afternoon of September 22, 2024 and took gadgets. However, they said, they were not bent on selling the items.
Police said that the minors were turned over to the Iloilo City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO). They were sent back to their parents immediately after undergoing intervention.
As for Muelle Loney Barangay Chairman Arnold Roga, two of the minors had been involved in previous cases of theft.
In a statement released by POSMO officer-in-charge JV Mabilog, he requested from Mayor Jerry Treñas a 24/7 service at POSMO of a police auxiliary. However, the mayor said that POSMO can instead maximize its workforce through a 24/7 shifting schedule.
The involvement of minors came as a surprise to Treñas, he said. He vowed to further strengthen programs and interventions to help guide children away from illegal activities. —GMA Regional TV
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