Burglars hit Bella’s house, steal P100,000 worth of gadgets

BELLA Ruby Santos lost her valuables to unidentified burglars who purportedly ransacked her residence in barangay Inayagan, Naga City, on Wednesday night.

Santos, one of the primary suspects in the kidnap-slay of 6-year-old Ellah Joy Pique, made a blotter about the incident at the Naga City police station.

She lost her laptop, two digital cameras, and an iTouch—all amounting to around P100,000.

“Mao pay wala koy kuwarta, gisamotan pa gyud (I have been confronted with financial constraints; the incident has worsened my situation),” Santos told Cebu Daily News.

Santos said she discovered her belongings were lost at 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday.

She, along with her friends and relatives, just came home after meeting an interested buyer of her house.

Santos said she left the house at around noon last Wednesday.

She proceeded to her mother’s house a few blocks away from hers.

Santos said her gadgets didn’t contain obscene or any unlawful photos and videos.

The window in one of the rooms in the second floor was left open by Santos’ caretaker.

The suspects entered though the window and went down to the master’s bedroom where Santos’ valuables were placed.

“Dili ta kapasangil. Nahibong lang ko ngano nga wala man nawagtang ang ubang butang nako (I couldn’t accuse anyone. I just wondered why other belongings were not stolen),” she said.

On accusations that the incident is just a “gimmick,” Santos said she couldn’t force people to believe her accusations.

Santos, along with her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths, is facing charges of kidnapping with homicide before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.

They were linked to the death of Ellah Joy last February.

Cebu Provincial Police Chief Patrocinio Comendador said they would investigate the incident and treat it as an ordinary burglary.

Comendador said if the burglars would be identified, then they would arrest them.

Comendador also said he requested the Minglanilla police to secure Ellah Joy’s father, Renante, who was allegedly threatened by Bella during last Friday’s court hearing.

Renante said Santos stared at him and crossed her hands near her neck.

“Gisinyasan ko niya ato katong iya sad kung gi-away unya mi-ingon pa siya nga gigabaan ko nga namatay akong anak (She gave me that gesture and told me that I suffered bad karma that is why my child died),” said Renante.

He said that he called up Comendador to ask for advise. Last Saturday morning, he went to Fuente police station to put the incident on the blotter after his neighbors informed him there was a group of persons looking for him and asking about his family.

Comendador promised to secure Renante and his family./Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol with reports from Correspondent Gabriel C. Bonjoc