I thought I’d write a little “public service announcement” of sorts. I’m doing this because I’ve experienced a couple of snatching attempts at the corner of Recto and Legarda.
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| Corner: Legarda/Recto (Recto Side) |
The first attempt happened right as I was turning this corner to go from Legarda to Recto (I’m taking this photo from the overpass, but it happened down at the sidewalk). I thought I felt something being removed from my bag, and I’m pretty sure I even saw the would-be snatcher. She looked to be in her 30’s and was right behind me. I looked down on the ground and saw a Meralco (electric) bill. Sure enough, it had my name on it–she had pulled it out of my bag (guess it wasn’t the kind of “bill” she was hoping for).
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| Corner: Legarda/Recto (Legarda Side) |
The second attempt happened just a few days ago. It was the same corner, but this time it was the Legarda side. I was walking from Recto to Legarda to look for a G-liner. I felt my bag being unzipped. Right behind me was a woman wearing a red jacket. Her hand was up by my bag, and she looked just like the one who removed my Meralco bill a couple of months earlier.
Both times I was caught in a bit of a “bottleneck”–a single-file line which slowed me down. The first time there was a huge hole over on the Recto side (it has since been repaired). The second time it was raining and I was having to wait to step on a makeshift concrete block bridge to walk onto Legarda.
Both times she just walked a few feet then stood off to the side–as if there was no real purpose for her to go around that corner other than to get behind me.
Anyway, I want to caution all of you to be very careful any time you are in a “bottleneck”–especially at this particular corner. It seems this snatcher waits for people to get slowed down so she can get behind them and put her sticky fingers to work.
In case you are wondering, I don’t keep anything of monetary value in the outer pockets of my backpack–I’ve lived here for eight years and I know better.
I’m just trying to pay it forward for every time someone has told me my bag is open.
I wish them ALL dead.
Sorry to hear that..
Another technic to protect your belongings from such is to put your bag in front of you when it’s crowded and hard to notice if someone is opening your backpack.
Ingat na lang palagi.
You really need to be careful when u’re around that place.When u use a backpack,kailangan nasa harap mo na lang ang bag mo,para safe.
Another place that you need to take note too is near Manila City Hall (near SM City Manila).
I was riding a jeepney from church going to our house in Quezon City when i was in College when a man sat beside me (that was near Manila City Hall).I felt something was wrong…my bag was kinda heavy (i didn’t notice at first that the man was holding an empty black bag and used it as a cover to his hands while reaching my bag (some snatchers do that as their strategy, if not empty black bag, they’ll use newspapers and hide their hands on it and reach the zipper of your bag or slash your bag with a knife to get ur wallet or any valuables inside).
What happened was, i wasn’t looking at my bag at first. The snatcher covered his hands with his empty black bag and used a knife slash my bag and get something from my bag but when i felt its heaviness, i looked at it and noticed that it has a slash on it so i said, “hey, why does my bag has a slash on it? It’s new and you’re the only one seated beside me.Ikaw lang ang sumusiksik sa akin.”
The man said, “anong sinisiksik? ikaw nga itong prinoprotektahan ko dahil nagsisiksikan ang mga tao.” I said, “anong prinoprotektahan, sinisiksik mo ako eh and look at the slash of my bag, it didn’t look like that before you rode.” Then i rebuked him, i said, “in Jesus Name! i rebuke you” (i didnt know what to do that time so i just said that:).Right after i said it, the man got off in Quiapo bridge and i noticed that he has a companion in the jeepney that also got off and while the jeepney was running, he reached out to me, pointed his fingers at me and said, “ikaw, pa-english english ka pa.”
But thank God, because He protected me. My bag that time was thick and the snatcher wasn’t able to get anything from it. But other people in the jeepney were nervous and a man said to me (after those snatchers got off) that he was nervous because i was rebuking the snatcher, he was thinking that the snatcher might use his knife to harm me.
Another kind of gang to be careful of is “dura dura gang” (dura means spit; i saw this real story on tv and if i have time i’ll blog abt it). They are men who would ride in a jeepney and they look formal and they would sit beside you and after a few min, you would notice that there’s already a saliva on ur shirt and these men would help wiping it while their other hands are busy unzipping your bags and getting your money or valuables.
Just be careful especially that Christmas is fast approaching. These are the days that many snatchers are roaming around seeking for their victims.
May God’s protection be yours, Bro Kevin.