People in the office that day:
1. VA – Program Director with car
2. ME – Program Assistant been here for more than a year and half, regular
3. CEH –Marketing Assistant less than a week, contractual
4. MM –Marketing Assistant less than three weeks, contactual
5. CA – Personal Marketing Assistant of VA
6. MHP – Personal Researcher of VA with car
7. Lito – Personal Driver of VA
Lost Items:
1 laptop owned by VA (ACER)
1 laptop owned by MHP (HP)
1 LCD projector owned by the program (INFOCUS)
* Estimated amount of the lost items: Php 250,000.00
Who had the keys?
VA entrusted me with a duplicate key to his office last year at around October or November (not sure). The guard also has a key to his office, which they lend to the Janitors every morning to clean his room.
MGH and I have the key to the white cabinet located outside the room of VA where we usually placed the old laptop of the program, the LCD projector and the lapel. I am in charge of that cabinet.
I arrived in the office at around 8:20 in the morning, while CEH arrived at around 8:40 am followed by MM at 8:50. MHP arrived first before CA.
At 10:30 am, CEH and I left for CFA to punch the handbooks for the incoming students. We returned to the office at around 12:30 pm. I saw CA using the laptop of VA and MHP using hers. I asked them (MHP, CA and MM) if they already had lunch, they told me: “not yet” and so I asked them to pack things up – like keeping all the laptops in their proper place, arranging all the papers and etc.
Earlier I pulled out the LCD from the said cabinet because VA had a presentation later that afternoon and he was supposed to bring that with him. I placed the LCD inside the room of VA along with the Lapel just in front of his desk.
Since CA was in charge of VA’s laptop, she asked me for the key of his room while MHP asked for the key of the white cabinet. I gave them the keys. MHP placed her laptop inside the cabinet beside the old laptop of the program. After placing the laptop inside the room, CA gave me the key of VA’s room, which I quickly placed inside my drawer along with my palm pilot and cell phone. I locked all of them inside and brought the key with me. I let MHP keep the key of the white cabinet since her laptop was inside. All of us left the room at the same time. I was the first one who went out of the door followed by CEH, MM and CA – (seconds interval). The last one to leave the room was MHP. We left the room at around 12:40 to 12:45 pm and went to the roof deck to eat our lunch. MHP, MM and CEH quickly sat down because they already had food while CA and I brought our food from the counter (“Abot-tingin” lang from our companion’s table).
After less than 30 mins (probably 20 mins later) we went back to the room. MM and CEH, after putting down their lunch bags, went to the restroom. Only three of us (MHP, CA and Me) were left in the room. As I was about to do my work, I noticed a pile of envelopes and papers on the conference room round table – you see I cleaned the area a day before and warned those were using it not to leave any mess or whatsoever on the top of the glass table. I quickly asked CA about it since she was the one working on that area earlier and when we looked at it, we saw that those were VA’s things. At the same time, MHP was opening the cabinet and saw that her laptop was missing. CA gave the assumption that maybe VA got both laptops (because the three of them are working on a book when the laptops were lost). We checked the room of VA and I, without thinking opened his door and to my surprise we did not need any key to open it, it was not locked. CA and I entered his room. CA went behind his desk to check his bag because she was assuming that VA left already. She saw that his bag was not there. I quickly dialed the cell number of VA but MHP was the one who talked to him. According to what I’ve heard from MHP during their conversation: at first, VA had the laptop with him, I assumed the line was not clear because when MHP asked him again, he told her that the laptop was with CA. After putting down the receiver, I called the guard to report the incident. After a few minutes VA arrived with the guards, instructing them to check all the possible exits here in the university.
Nothing was broken or damaged; my palm, cell phone and the key of VA’s office were still inside my locked drawer. Nothing has been misplaced. That’s why MHP and the police think that maybe there was connivance between the people inside the program and the thief.
I am not sure about the chronology of events after that but I went upstairs to the 6th floor to tell MGH about the incident but since she was not there yet, I asked the receptionist if she was able to have a glimpse of our missing laptops or if she saw any suspicious looking people from our room carrying a big bag. On my second attempt to inform MGH, I met EG (an office mate whom I only met a few weeks ago – I do not even know her last name. All I know is that her real name is toot-toot) at the door of the school of management. She was going out carrying a laptop and an inforcus LCD projector just like mine. By impulse, I told her “uy! Baka amin yan a!” or something to that effect. She just smiled and told me that the laptop and the LCD were from MScM and not ours. Unknown to me that the roving guard, named EF was following me. He reported this incident to the police. EG was also questioned and will undergo the lie detection test with us.