AFTER the theft of four liquid crystal display (LCD) projectors worth P95,000 each and 11 flat-screen computer monitors worth at least P15,000 a piece, Vice-Rector for Finance Fr. Melchor Saria, O.P. said the University will crack down on pilferage of UST properties on campus.
He said counter measures include LCD projector cases being fitted with bigger and more difficult locks. In fact, every case will have two locks, the keys to which will be kept by the college technician and the Santo Tomas e-Service Providers technician. “You would need (to remove) two padlocks to remove that.” Fr. Saria said.
All classroom doors will also be equipped with a dead-bolt lock aside from the doorknob lock. Keys to the dead-bolt locks will be kept by the dean’s office, while the guards will keep the keys to the doorknobs. Defective locks will be replaced.
“One regular employee of the dean’s office will open and close all doors before and after class hours,” said Clemente Dingayan, UST Security Force Detachment Commander.
“The college technician will borrow the keys of multi-media rooms from the security guards in the morning and return them at night,” Fr. Saria said. “The Security (personnel) will be responsible after office hours.”
Technicians will now have to pass a slip to the security guards every time an item is brought outside a building, he added.
Dingayan , meanwhile, called on the students to help UST stern thievery.
“They (students) should have the initiative to report the presence of suspicious persons,” he said.
Last Nov. 12, the College of Nursing lost an LCD projector. The College of Science lost one last December 7. And just last month, the Faculties of Pharmacy and Arts and Letters lost an LCD projector each.
Dingayan said the police are still investigating the incidents. He did not discount, however, the possibility of an inside job in the Science and Arts and Letters incidents as the LCD projector cases were not forcibly opened.
The 11 computer monitors on the other hand, were taken away from the Beato Angelico Bldg. on Dec. 17, a day after the Paskuhan, Fr. Saria said.
Dingayan said the stolen monitors were thin and small enough to fit into back packs.
Fr. Saria said the University will keep an eye on security guards to avoid the possibility of an inside job. There will also be a regular schedule for the taking out of trash, which will be checked first with metal detectors, to make sure that no electronic equipment is slipped out. The janitors’ lockers will also be checked regularly.
“Not to blame them or anyone, but these are regular procedures para maging vigilant tayo,” Fr. Saria said. Jose Teodoro B. Mendoza
