Have you seen this?

HERE'S the actual video of the robbery that happened in the Rolex store at Greenbelt 5 last Sunday, Oct. 18. Afraid!


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In typical fashion, Ayala Land says it has beefed up its security. Pray tell, how?

The day after the heist, I went to TriNoma in QC, and the security guards hardly gave me a glance. The same was true tonight, as I went around Glorietta, then over to Greenbelt 2 and 3. All I did was raise my bag, and the security guards didn't even bother to have me open it. Okay, so I probably don't look like a burglar or terrorist anyway.

But I think shoppers would feel safer if there were some K-9 dogs going around (which the malls had after the Glorietta 2 explosion in 2007), or the security guards inspected everyone's bags. Unlike others, I've never resented having my bag and bundles inspected in any establishment. For me, if this is one way to reduce the opportunity for unscrupulous elements to sow mayhem in public places, then I am only to glad to participate in this effort.

Then again as most shoppers know, the security at Ayala malls has never been decent to begin with. Petty thievery goes on unabated. (Yours truly was a victim and she had to badger Ayala Land to even ask their security people to check the CCTV footage. Of course, they got back to me a month later. Duh.) That Glorietta explosion happened. (Does anyone really have a clear cut explanation what happened there?) And now they had this brazen burglary in the middle of the day. The news reports have it that Emirates Security Specialist Inc., the company hired by Ayala Land to secure its malls, is owned by former PNP chief Edgardo Aglipay who has since issued a statement defending his men.

But why were the robbers able to enter the mall? Didn't the security guards check with the security director/administrator if there was indeed a bomb inspection scheduled? Didn't the guards notice that the so-called bomb inspection team alighted from an unmarked vehicle? And where were they when the shooting started? Mayor Freddie Tinga's police security detail were saying that they could have easily "neutralized" the burglars if Ayala mall's security guards came to their aid.

Apparently all that the Ayala mall security is really good for is beating up truant kids caught swiping donation cans off shop counters. And that, my friends, is another true story.