Be Paranoid: Car Robberies at The Podium and The Fort

We all know that crime and murder is happening everywhere around us—but we don’t mind, since it’s not happening to us. Only when it’s close to home do we realize how vulnerable and helpless we really are.

Last night, Marco lost his new Macbook Pro, which he got not more than a month ago for P100,000. He left it in the car trunk of a friend, which was parked by The Podium in Ortigas. They left the parking lot at 9pm for dinner and came back 1am which is when they discovered that the trunk was broken in and three laptops were stolen, including his friend’s Macbook Air (this sells for P80,000 each) and a Dell laptop .

I don’t know any more details than that because Marco doesn’t really want to talk about it yet and I didn’t ask since I know this is hitting him hard. I know how he loved his Macbook Pro because every peso of it was something he worked for. He’s so proud of it. It’s central to what he does, which is web design. He actually didn’t only lose the laptop and miscellaneous gear worth $2,000 but he also lost priceless data related to his work. We are both devastated because it will be hard to raise money for such an expensive gadget again, as well as recover the data in it.

A couple of things are bothering me about this incident. One, how did the robbers know where to look, and what to look for? It’s either they got lucky, which I doubt, or Marco’s party was followed around. Two, it happened practically beside an exclusive place, The Podium, where high-income people are a norm. How could the security be so lax as for this to happen? Ortigas is not Quiapo, Recto, Divisoria, or Baclaran. And yet…

From Pau

Just last week ago a similar incident happened to another friend, Pau: his car window was broken in and he lost two cameras, a Nikon D40 and a Canon G10, and his laptop to another fucker. It happened at The Fort, in MC Home Depot. His car was parked no more than 15-20 meters from the security guard! OMG right? Read more about it here and please help him get in touch with people who might give him assistance or know the man in the sketch.

If you’re interested in helping Marco, please do

• Refer him people who can help him recover his laptop if you know of any.
• If you have any leads on the people who have stolen the laptop, we’re willing to offer a substantial reward.
• If you happen to see a Macbook Pro on sale or have bought one without a box, manual, and drivers, please check the serial number. The serial number of Marco’s laptop is w88522kh1g0. We’re willing to offer a reward for this information as well.
• Blog about this incident and spread the word. This isn’t only to help Marco and Pau recover their rightful belongings but also to help other people avoid the same fate. It seems to be a modus operandi by some group. People should be aware and be paranoid about leaving their stuff in cars or bringing out their gadgets in public. Upscale shopping places are no longer safe, if they ever were to begin with.

Please, please spread the word. You can email me at lizlanuzo[at]yahoo[dot]com[dot]ph if you have any relevant info. Thank you!

EDIT: Another incident of laptop robbery in Ortigas which also happened only last Wednesday. Even more reason to be paranoid as the robbery happened in front of the owner! The balls of these people. It is a serious problem so don’t dismiss it.