INCIDENTS of swindling last month prompted University administrators to warn Thomasians about transacting with strangers.
In a memorandum by the UST Office of the Secretary-General last Oct. 8, two cases of swindling were reported to have taken place in the University.
One incident involved a UST employee, who received a phone call from an unidentified man saying that a package from a relative abroad had arrived and that it needed P2,000 for customs duties before it could be released.
However, after receiving the money, the man disappeared and the alleged package remained undelivered.
According to UST Secretary-General Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P., they felt the need to warn Thomasians of the swindling, for them to be extra cautious with their transactions.
“Somehow, these unscrupulous people know something about us (University constituents). However, we do not know how they got the information. We don’t want to speculate that it’s an inside job or anything else, but how come these people know something about us?” he said.
The University has already posted notifications around the campus warning Thomasians of the swindling incidents.
Another case of swindling was reported to the UST Office for Security Affairs (OSA) involving a canteen staff who was gyped of P4,000 by an unidentified man, who promised to give vintage coins in exchange.
The suspect did not give the coins, but was caught a few days later while attempting to defraud another canteen staff.
Fr. Cabading said UST it is difficult to control outsiders coming inside the University premises because of the hospital and the church.
However, he said there is a pending proposal to have plain-clothed guards roam around the campus and to install security cameras around the University.
“These are some measures that we are seriously studying. But these projects would entail a lot of money,” Fr. Cabading said.
Fr. Cabading, advised the Thomasian community to be alert and cooperate with the University by immediately reporting similar incidents.
Meanwhile, Philippine National Police Station 4 commander Senior Supt. Bernardo Diaz met the security heads of UST and four other Manila universities in Manila last Oct. 23.
The four were from UP-Manila, Far Eastern University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and De La Salle University.
According to UST-OSA detachment commander Clemente Dingayan, the meeting discussed the need for tightening the security on campus due to the threat of terrorism in Metro Manila. Ma. Cristina S. Lavapie
