A former 90’s singer from the pop-rock duo “Ana & Soraya” was involved in a theft incident at a Taiwanese restaurant along Makati Avenue last week.

In an interview with DZRH on Thursday, Sept. 28, Ana dela Riva Rivera said she felt the need to tell the story as the public continues to grapple with prevalent theft cases.

“I just want to come out to the public at sabihin sa taumbayan na mag-ingat po talaga kasi ako naman po ay maingat na tao [...] Maingat nga ako pero nasalisihan pa rin ako,” she said.

A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed a man in a white baseball cap standing by the counter while holding a phone to his ear, seemingly talking to someone.

According to Rivera, it was when the waitress was serving their food that the theft occurred.

“Talagang sinadya ko umupo sa gilid para hindi po ako maabot pero inabot pa rin ako. ‘Yun po ang masaklap diyan eh hindi ko talaga siya napansin,” she said.

The former 90’s singer explained that she only knew of the event when she tried reaching for disposable wipes from her bag and noticed that her bag was missing.

“Siguro wala pang 3-5 minutes [after the incident] nakita ko wala na [yung bag]. Doon na ko tumayo, sabi ko ‘somebody stole my bag, please call the police,’” she recalled.

“I’d like to reach as many po na kababayan natin kasi hindi lang po ako ang naging biktima. Doon sa police station ang dami-dami po namin doon, 20 cases a day minimum per [police] branch.It’s so rampant,” Rivera added.