Ingat sa Mandurukot!

This morning I saw an actual "snatching", right before my very eyes! I was on the jeepney when the guy infront of me grabbed the bag of a student beside him (victim is a guy, about 17 yrs old). But before the snatcher could get off the jeep, WHICH WAS MOVING FAST BY THE WAY, the student was able to pull back his bag. The snatcher kept on pulling too, but the student never gave in. till finally the snatcher decided to get off and run quickly (at that point, the driver already stopped, maybe figured out what was happening!)

It turns out that the bag was the snatcher's bag! the student just pulled it because he believes that it has his stuff which the snatcher has been stealing the whole ride (hindi pala siya snatcher, mandurukot siya!). The student figured that out perhaps because the side pocket of his bag (a different bag, his real bag this time) had lots of cuts already. smart one! anyway, he scrutinized that snatcher's bag (dunno if he found any of his stuff) then threw it on the face of "guy B" beside him -and who's this guy? the snatcher's friend. yeah, I remember, guy B and the snatcher knew each other! They were talking to each other when I got in! So, as everyone was watching the entire commotion, guy B eventually got off too. I dunno if he was embarrassed or not, but either way he showed no remorse. nor fear. kapal! I wonder how many times they do it everyday?!

There, whew. I'm glad nothing really violent happened. I'm glad too I wasn't the victim, I could have freaked out. OR I would never notice the cuts on my bag till all the bad guys left. Though... on 2nd thought, if it was me, nothing bad could've happened... I learned from experience (I think! though, I believe anyone can be stupid anytime still!): When I was in college my cellphone was stolen, from that same style -I rode a jeep in buendia, then came 2 guys -one sat on my left, then the other on my right. the one on my left kept on moving towards me, but I thought it was because there are too many passengers on our row. Well, admittedly, I was a bit absent minded too that time. The next thing I knew the guys were gone, along with my cellphone. My bag had a tiny cut too -about the size of the phone's width. pro!

Since then, I've been so extra conscious of guys sitting too close (aka nanggigitgit). There was a time actually when I rode a jeepney somewhere in Susana then noticed that 3-4 guy passengers were already there. They seemed to know each other, BUT they let me sit between them. After sitting down for about 3 seconds, I stopped the jeep then transferred to a different one. I just can't trust that setup again.

So there, I just want to share that: it's christmas season once again, pickpockets are everywhere, so please be extra careful with your belongings, whether it's morning or afternoon or night, they choose no specific time during this season! Do not sit between two people if you think they know each other. Especially on jeepneys.

(and what's the relation between christmas and need for money btw? For the family's keso de bola or hamonado? Really, I don't understand why some has to do such grave thing to celebrate Jesus' birthday. HELLO!?)