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A 69-year-old woman from Danao City showed a group of swindlers that she would not just be a helpless victim.
Sansa Rota chase the members of the Budol-Budol gang after they swindled her of her necklace worth P13,000 last Tuesday.
She managed to hold on to one of the members and refused to let her go.
A policeman noticed the commotion and arrested Dina Fernandez, an alleged member of the Budol-Budol gang — a group of swindlers who lured their victims to give up their valuables in exchange for a bundle of money which would later turn out to be just a wad of papers.
Danao police said Rota was approached by Fernandez while standing at the side of the road in barangay Poblacion, Danao.
Rota said Fernandez asked where she could rent a truck because her own truck, which was loaded with dried fish, malfunctioned.
Rota said she didn’t know of any truck rental in the area. Later, a couple appeared and told them that they knew of an establishment that rented out trucks. The couple even offered to take Fernandez there.
Police said Fernandez pretended she didn’t trust the “strangers” because she was carrying a bundle of cash and might get robbed by the two.
Fernandez then asked Rota if she could give her the money for safekeeping in exchange for her necklace. Rota agreed and gave her necklace to Fernandez.
Police said that when Fernandez and the couple started to leave, Rota noticed the “bundle of money” were just pieces of paper with a P100 bill on top of it. Rota called out to Fernandez and chased her.
Police said Rota got hold of Fernandez until she caught the attention of a policeman.
Fernandez was arrested and brought to the Danao police station but the couple escaped with Rota’s necklace.
A 30-year-old woman also fell for the same modus operandi pulled out off by suspected members of Budol-Budol group in Mandaue City.
Jona Estabas of Capitol Site, Cebu City, gave her two rings worth P12,000 and a necklace worth P8,000 on Tuesday to a group of swindlers who pretended to be looking for vehicles to rent out. /Correspondent Rene F. Alima
