Parish faithful are outraged at the theft of donations intended to help people fighting the pandemic.

Newsdesk (31/08/2021 23:25,Gaudium Press ) Police in the Philippines have arrested four people who broke into a Catholic church to steal money donated to victims of Covid.

The four robbers, including two children, broke into St. John the Baptist Parish Church in Lian, Batangas province, south of Manila, on August 30 and fled with eight donation boxes filled with cash.

They were later seen opening the boxes, which led to their identification by police who were able to recover almost 20,000 pesos (US$400), which they had already stashed in their homes.

The fact that they stole the donations made the parishioners furious:

“It was money meant for the individuals affected by Covid in our community. I don’t understand why people are so selfish, thinking of taking something that is not theirs,” Batangas parishioner Francis Elegacion told UCA News.

Batangas police spokesman Joben dela Cruz said the incident was the second theft from a church on record this year in the province.

With information from UCA News.

Compiled by Sandra Chisholm