Man arrested for stealing water meters in Pasig City

A man was arrested in Pasig City for allegedly stealing water meters in Barangay Pinagbuhatan and selling them for scrap.

In a report by EJ Gomez on Unang Balita on Monday, CCTV footage showed the man pushing a sidecar loaded with scrap materials along M.H. Del Pilar Street in Barangay Pinagbuhatan shortly after midnight on July 18.

The man appeared to be inspecting items piled along the roadside. Barangay officials, however, said he was actually scouting the area before committing the theft.

Another CCTV footage taken two hours later showed the man entering a compound carrying a sack and heading straight for the water meters. He managed to detach and steal two meters.

The stolen meters belonged to the households of Thelma and Lovely Sequeña.

“Paggising ko sa umaga, siyempre maliligo kami. Papasok kami eh. Nagulat kami, walang tubig. Expected namin, pinatay lang. Kaso pagtingin namin, mga walang metro,” Thelma said in the report.

(When I woke up in the morning, of course, we needed to shower before going to work. We were surprised to find that there was no water. We thought the supply had simply been turned off, but when we checked, the meters were gone.)

The residents then reviewed their neighbors’ CCTV footage and confirmed that the meters had been stolen.

“Sobrang bilis niyang binaklas 'yung metro namin. Talagang parang bihasang-bihasa siya. Buti nga po, dalawa lang 'yung nakuha," Lovely said.

(He dismantled our meter so quickly. He really looked like he knew what he was doing. Thankfully, he only managed to take two.)

"Magpapangatlo pa po siya kaso nga lang nung naluwagan niya 'yung pangatlo, may dumaan po na tao kaya hindi na niya nakuha,” she added.

(He was about to take a third after loosening it, but someone passed by, so he was unable to get it.)

Thelma and Lovely’s households have been without running water for more than a week because of the theft.

“Timba-timba po muna kami dahil po diyan sa perwisyong nangyari na pagnanakaw na 'yan. Nagtitiyaga po muna kami magsalok. Limang piso isang timba,” Lovely said.

(We’ve been relying on buckets because of the inconvenience caused by the theft. For now, we have to fetch water at P5 per bucket.)

According to barangay officials, around 50 households have had their water meters stolen over the past three months. A group of men is reportedly behind the thefts.

“Nakikita po namin, 'yung pinaka-lock nung mga knot para mabaklas mo 'yung metro, tinatanggal nila 'yun,” said Barangay Pinagbuhatan kagawad Arcie Lucas.

(We saw that they remove the locks on the fittings to detach the meters.)

“Tapos meron silang dalang mga tools, tubo, katala, kung sakali na mahirap tanggalin. Meron naman na nakita natin sa CCTV na kamay lang ang pinagpipihit nila. So talagang mga sanay na sanay sila,” he added.

(They also bring tools, such as pipes and wrenches, in case the meters are difficult to remove. But we also saw in the CCTV footage that some of them could unscrew the meters with their bare hands. So they really know what they’re doing.)

Barangay officials had been monitoring the suspects until they caught one of them on July 19.

The suspect is currently in the custody of the Pasig City Police and is facing a theft complaint. The police have yet to issue a statement on the arrest.

“Nakuha daw niya 'yun, nakalakal niya. Pero kasi buo pa 'yun eh. So 'yun, tumatanggi pa siya pero nu'ng sinabi namin na, 'Meron nang CCTV kaming nakita na ikaw at 'yan pa rin ang suot mo nu'ng nag-iikot ka,' so 'di na siya nakatanggi. Hindi na siya nangatwiran,” Lucas said.

(He claimed he had just found them and sold them as scrap. But the meters were still intact. He initially denied stealing them, but when we told him, ‘We have CCTV footage showing you wearing the same clothes while roaming around the area,’ he could no longer deny it. He stopped making excuses.)

The suspect eventually admitted stealing and selling the water meters, according to barangay officials. He reportedly said he could sell three meters, weighing about one kilogram in total, for ₱480.

Authorities are continuing to pursue the other suspects believed to be involved in the water meter thefts.

Barangay officials said Manila Water has reached out to them and pledged to cooperate in the filing of charges against the suspect. — Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/MCG, GMA News