Procuring replacements. Megaforce Integrated Security Agency (MISA) has agreed to shoulder the expenses needed to replace the equipment stolen from the Mathematics department last September. Photo by Ryan Y. Racca

MEGAFORCE INTEGRATED Security Agency (MISA) has been charged with the expenses for the missing equipment during the break-in at the Mathematics Department last September 19.

Facilities Management Office (FMO) director Jose Arnulfo Batac said that after explaining the demand to MISA, the company agreed to shoulder all expenses. “We’re in the process of procuring replacements for [the missing equipment]. We will replace [these] and we will charge it to them,” he said.

Six monitors, one CPU and one wi-fi router went missing after unidentified robbers broke into one of the rooms of the department. Several drawers, which contained mostly personal items of the faculty members, were also left open. A “wrench-like” tool was found in the crime scene, believed to be used by the robbers to destroy a portion of the door and enter the room.

Math Assistant Professor Emmanuel Cabral discovered the incident at around 6:20 AM and immediately informed department staff member Corazon Alvarado, who called for security.

“Because of the number of losses, the security decided to get in touch with the Philippine National Police (PNP). That’s when the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) and PNP started coming, [at around] 9:20 AM,” Batac said.

Batac believes that the items were stolen for their salability.

Deployment issues

Initial investigations by the SOCO revealed that a security guard was on-duty at SEC-A, B and C on the morning of the incident. However, the guard had another task to attend to at the time.

“That early morning of Monday turned out [to be] very stormy, and so one of our guards [had] to take care of the sump pump in Escaler Hall, [which] pumps rainwater out of the basement,” said Batac. The security guard deployed in SEC attended to this task.

“The theory is that while these things were happening, the perpetrators, who we think [have] been familiar with the place, took the opportunity to break in and take whatever they [could]. We’re not sure as to their number,” Batac said.

He added that while he understands that the assigned guard was attending to a task at the time, the security agency could have done better.

Records kept by the Quezon City Station 9 police blotter show that the security guard saw two vehicles at the SEC parking lot at around 8 PM of September 18, the night before the incident. The vehicle went back around 5 AM, but the guard “did not approach [the vehicle] because [it] was moving.” As noted in the blotter, there were also “two persons seen carrying something.”

Batac said that the ease of access inside the campus during the administration of the Ateneo College Entrance Test (ACET), held last September 17 and 18, might have been an opportunity for the robbers to enter the school’s premises and familiarize themselves with the place. “The inspection of vehicles was waived [during the ACET] and access inside the campus was very easy. They [could] park anywhere,” he said.

In light of the incident, FMO has advised MISA to improve its deployment system. However, Batac thinks that the solution should be an improvement of service, and not simply the addition of more guards.

Batac said that the FMO does not want MISA to add one more guard just so the agency can say that it has done something to address the incident. “What we really want to see is how [they’re] doing [the] inspections, what’s the synergy with other posts, how well the guards inspect the perimeter of the buildings and how coordinated they are,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Batac added that they also want MISA to study how assistance can be given to the deployed guards when the situation demands it. “Like in this particular case: it’s raining hard, and you’re busy doing something else. What should be your practice? You should call for assistance,” he said.

Need for improvement

Batac said FMO will be waiting for MISA’s assessment of the campus to make further improvements in security.

MISA will be submitting their review of the campus come the end of November. The agency is tasked to give their observations on the managing of the locks and keys on campus and to the access of control.

MISA’s entry to the Loyola Schools has been hounded by several issues, with the first being its replacement of Leopard Security and Investigation Agency (LSIA). Several student leaders then decried the lack of consultation with the student body when the administrative decision was announced last July.

Last August, two student-owned cars were reported to be broken into, with the owners’ valuables stolen. This had taken place during the transition period from LSIA to MISA. MISA officially took over Ateneo security last September.

Batac said that on its day-to-day regular operations, MISA is settling in well. He commended their security performance during the ACET, Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ’s investiture last September, and the Grade School fiesta—all of them major campus events.

He added that the Math Department incident should strengthen the partnership between the university and the service provider.

“In any partnership, you cannot just point fingers at who’s to [be] blamed. In the end, your objective is to make sure that the service is improving for the benefit of the community. We see [this as an] opportunity. It is unfortunate that [this] had to happen but we should learn from the incident, improve the way we do our operations and be more detailed and more strategic on how we should look at our security,” said Batac.

The GUIDON asked MISA, through Operations Manager Wilfredo Molles, for its statement on the matter and for updates regarding the investigation. The agency has not released its statement as of press time.