Online-hired househelp charged for stealing PHP100K in Iloilo

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A businesswoman filed criminal charges against her househelp who allegedly stole PHP100,000 just three days after being hired.

A case for qualified theft was filed on Aug. 22 against a 28-year-old suspect, alias Liza, a resident of Barangay Bato, Tubungan, Iloilo.

The complainant, 44-year-old Luema, claimed that Liza took the money from her bag while the family was asleep around 4 a.m. on Aug. 20, at their home in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro, Iloilo City.

The bag was reportedly kept inside the master bedroom, where Luema’s mother was sleeping at the time of the incident.

CCTV footage reportedly captured the act of theft.

Luema said she was sleeping with her child in an adjacent room and discovered the money — along with the suspect — missing when they woke up.

She said they had hired Liza online, and the incident occurred just three days into her employment.

Authorities tried to locate the suspect in her reported hometown of Barangay Bato, Tubungan, Iloilo, but efforts have so far failed.

Capt. Mavin Laraño, chief of Iloilo City Police Station 3, said they coordinated with Tubungan police and learned that Liza had previously been accused of theft but was able to settle the case.

“I hope this serves as a lesson for employers to be cautious when hiring househelp they don’t personally know,” Laraño said.

“If someone can be betrayed by a person they trust, how much more by a stranger?”

As a precaution, Laraño advised employers to ask for identification cards, barangay clearance, and National Police Clearance before hiring domestic workers.