A CELLPHONE STOLEN

My wife lost my cellphone. It was a the secondary cellphone we use for the SUN Cellular Network. There are three commercially available networks in the Philippines. There is Globe, Smart and Sun. According to someone I spoke with Sun, they chose "Sun" because the Sun is larger than the Globe and because the Sun is brighter than Smart. Most everyone who has enough friends can create their own little Sun Cellular micro network. Me an my friends use it to communicate with one another over and above our regular cellphones. Of course, Sun is a tad difficult to use, but they are working on it, and you see how they are slowly getting there. Especially with the support of the cellphone using community, composed of about 50 million Filipinos, who appreciate having an alternative cellphone that has the only unlimited call service in the country. It is Sun that pushes the prices down when you think about it.

Anyway, my wife had her bag picked while she was paying for a procedure in a clinic just across the Philippine General Hospital. They got the cellphone even though my wife already had someone with her, and even though she is a battle-hardened journalist. If she was a regular person I would call her a victim, but really, she should know better, especially in areas like that.

Here is a lesson: In the Philippines, criminal activity increases as you reach two places: deserted areas and heavily populated areas. The pickpockets in the city are so good that they can actually remove your wallet, take your money, place your wallet back and put your driver's license on your lap, and then disappear before you notice anything. Also, dark, deserted areas are a favorite haunt of the stick-up men. What is great about our country though is that we do not have muggers. Muggers are criminals who attack you to immobilize you, then take your possessions. Here they ask nicely that you don't retaliate and calmly hand over your stuff. They know better than to actually physically harm another person. They know the repercussions of that in a country where there are still bloodfeuds, vendettas, beheadings and killers for hire.

Now, if ever you lose your cellphone, try calling it and asking for it back from the person who got it. But be wary, sometimes, criminals use that to lure you into an unsafe area to do something worse to you. Especially the women. Is the cellphone worth your life, or getting raped? If you will recover your cellphone by meeting up with the "nice person who found it" have backup and meet in a very public place, or better yet, have the cops go with you.

Also, don't bother with having the phone blocked so the thief can't use it, because even if you can somehow ask your provider to block the number, all the thief has to do is to buy a new SIM Card. Also, if you manage to get the National Telecommunications Commission to have the IMEI number of the phone blocked, all the theif has to do is bring it to any cellphone repair station in the country and have the IMEI unblocked for a small fee. In short, go ahead, if you want to trouble yourself and waste your time getting a police report, an affidavit of loss, and waiting for action that will, in the end, be futile.