Cops face blank wall on P1.5-M burglary at RP consulate in Dubai

MANILA, Philippines - No suspects have been found yet on the reported P1.5-million burglary at the Philippine Consulate in Dubai, according to an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“It is still being investigated by the police and the DFA, but there are no conclusions yet," Dubai Consul General Renato Valeriano told GMANews.TV in an interview on Tuesday.

According to reports, thieves broke into the consulate’s financial officer’s office last September 5 and took money and passport stored in a safe worth about Dh45, 000 or P1.5 million.

The stolen money was reportedly part of the consulate’s official funds, including fees unpaid for consular services, such as renewal of passports, and money for running the office.

Valeriano said that “as of the moment," the police had no specific leads to the crime. “Gusto ng pulis ituloy lang ang (The police just want to continue the) investigations."

As to speculations that the crime was an inside job involving Filipino consulate driver Alberto Ricafrente and finance officer Evelyn Frutas, the consul general said the DFA had not ruled out anything.

According to news reports, Ricafrente was recently arrested by the police for being an illegal immigrant who had been on the run for over 1,600 days.

“That is another matter, he (Ricafrente) has unpaid debts," said Valeriano.

A report from the Xpress said the driver came to the consulate more than a year ago and had allegedly been involved in a feud over money among the staff of the consulate.

As to the allegations against Frutas, Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Libran Cabactulan told Xpress that he found it “highly suspicious" that the finance officer had left the vault’s key and combination numbers written on a piece of paper in her office on the night the money was stolen.

“We need to determine if there was gross negligence (on the part of concerned consulate officials in Dubai) that led to this crime," Cabactulan told Xpress.

Valeriano said the finance officer was still being investigated.

Meanwhile, Gulf News said a 24-hour security was observed at the consulate’s premises after the burglary incident. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more