Parishioners at Most Holy Trinity Parish in Manga, Tagbilaran discovered Thursday morning that donation boxes inside the church had been pried open and robbed, police said.
A lay liturgical minister noticed one of the metal boxes beside the altar had been forced open and its contents stolen, according to the church caretaker interviewed by media.
Investigators found a metal saw, a small spoon and a hollow metal tube with wiring that they believe were used to open the solid metal donation boxes.
The parish cook reported that a man in his 20s, wearing a yellow t-shirt and shorts, entered the church compound around midday Wednesday asking to buy ice cubes — an unusual request that aroused suspicion.
“The church doesn’t sell ice cubes,” the cook told investigators. She said the man quickly left via a stairway connecting the convent to the church, a route known only to those familiar with the premises.
Reverend Father Richard Pongase, the parish priest currently on leave, identified the violated boxes as donations for venerating the Trinity image and an offertory box used during children’s masses.
Church treasurer estimates the boxes, last counted in August, contained over P4,000 pesos, swelled by donations during October’s rosary month and All Saints’ Day celebrations.
The parish lacks CCTV cameras and keeps two side doors open daily to accommodate the steady stream of devotees visiting the Trinity shrine.
Church personnel had filed a police report but have not identified suspects.
Investigators noted the church was opened to evacuees during Typhoon Tino, allowing unrestricted public access.