A Horror Story of Getting Robbed in Broad Daylight in a Resto Hub with No CCTVs
(Stock photo only. Photo from bhsjacket.com)
A food blogger friend posted a horrific and disappointing story about getting robbed while having lunch with friends and fellow bloggers inside a restaurant somewhere in BGC’s The Fort Strip.
With my fair share of covering restaurant events or having intimate dining meet-ups with other foodie friends, I have observed that most of us are quite incautious in leaving our belongings unattended because we tend to be “in the zone” when taking food photos and because we trust the people around too much. I believe that we must be more attentive of our valuables to avoid theft from happening. Aside from being more careful, business establishments are responsible in ensuring the safety of their consumers. Case in point, have functioning CCTV cameras especially in common areas.
There are places in Metro Manila that are already making CCTV cameras a pre-requisite when securing a business permit. Quezon City is leading the “No CCTV, No Business Permit Policy”. Parañaque City also has the same CCTV camera ordinance. Outside NCR, Cagayan de Oro has a “No CCTV-No Business License Policy”, which is written on its Business Permit Application form.
But, how come business districts in the Metro Manila doesn’t have strict CCTV camera requirement? I did a quick Google search for Makati and Taguig, and it seems that neither of them are even working on passing bills about a CCTV camera ordinance. If there is any that you know about, let us know.
In any case, CCTV cameras would have been helpful in this case. Here’s an excerpt from the story.
It was an event. FRIDAY PAY DAY 11-14-14, lunch time in the ever famous BGC’s FORT STRIP. The restaurant I visited with friends and fellow bloggers was packing. Took shots of the place and the food. Definitely enjoyed everything. Meeting new friends and catching up with old ones.
Then, placed my Crumpler Camera Bag on my chair with the strap at the back. Just like the way I usually do when I go to restaurants. It had my CANON 60D, battery grip, charger, extra battery, extra memory card, wallet, credit cards, atm, cash and my PRC and LTO license. Felt a nudge but didn’t bother thinking my bag fell on the ground or somebody just squeezed by. After getting one or two spoonful and a gulp of water, I looked back to get my bag and it was gone.Â
I quickly asked my table mates if they saw something. They said nope. Our hosts went to the back office to check if they have CCTV, one of them went to the opposite restaurant to check if they had one too.
I stood up and scanned the restaurant and went outside to see if there were security guards or if there were people running with my bag. NO one was there. There was no security guards around. No one in sight. No witnesses in BROAD DAYLIGHT.
According to his story, he exhausted all possibilities to track back the perpetrator. He checked with the restaurant if they had CCTV cameras around to possibly check anyone suspicious who left the premises, he reported the incident to the nearby police station, and he checked with the surrounding restaurants and buildings to see if they have CCTV cameras in public areas. All measures ended into a failure so far.
He said:
After going around in circles, J (the one who invited him to the event) had to go since it has been more than an hour of useless back and forths. She bid farewell and asked to be updated and will do the same. While I continued to go around. LOST.
Before leaving the area, he found out that there is a security office in The Fort Strip so he went there. Â He added:
Apparently, there is a security office in THE FORT STRIP.
The staff there advised that there are no CCTVS in BGC FORT STRIP COMMON AREAS where the perpetrator may have passed by. The area infront of URBN/ Early Bird? NONE. The area going to the PARKING LOT? NONE. The Side Entrances None! Parking lot… NONE!
I was in utter disbelief. This being BGC FORT STRIP.
One of security guards was kind enough to accompany me to the admin of the building where the restaurant was located.Â
Wouldn’t you know, it was off site, around 3 blocks away on the 3rd floor of a building with a bank and a breakfast restaurant place.Â
Once there, I was able to talk to the staff and was advised that there was with finality NO CCTV camera in the AREA. They asked me to write down on a piece of paper what happened and what were lost. From there, they called BGC admin to verify if they could look into it. Unfortunately, they said that same thing. NO CCTV.
You can read the full story here.
Why are there no CCTV cameras in a place such as this, which is often packed with people especially during peak hours? Also, why don’t they have CCTV cameras in the parking area even though they charge a premium price of PhP 50 per hour after the first four hours from 6AM to 6PM?
Maybe there are plans to put up CCTV cameras around this resto hub to safeguard its huge customer base. I hope it gets worked out quickly.
To sum it up, just a quick reminder is to always keep your valuables in sight. You’ll never know who are preying on them and are just waiting for the right time to nab them from you.
Also, spread the word to prevent this from happening.
Has the same thing happened to you?
What did you do?
Share your thoughts with us.
A Horror Story of Getting Robbed in Broad Daylight in a Resto Hub with No CCTVs
