ANGELES CITY—Travelers to South America, especially Colombia, better be warned.
A city councilor learned the hard way the prevalence of the high crime rate in the said country during his visit last December 29.
Councilor Joseph “PG” G. Ponce said on Monday that he fell victim to “riding-in-tandem” criminals in Bogota who robbed him at gunpoint of his watch, cash and other personal belongings, including his bag containing his identification cards, debit and credit cards.
Ponce was able to come home only on Sunday after being stranded for six days in Bogota because his passport was also taken.
The councilor said he arrived at the El Dorado International Airport on December 29 for a two-day tour in the country’s capital city with his partner and planned to stay overnight before moving on to New York where his son was waiting for him.
He said they hailed a taxi from the airport that would bring them to their hotel. But as soon as they arrived at the hotel at around 4 p.m. local time, two men in their 30s dismounted from their motorcycles, accosted him at gunpoint and demanded that he hand over his watch, a Rolex Submariner Blue.
When he refused, one of robbers reportedly pistol whipped the victim, prompting him let go of his watch. Another spotted his bag and when he also hesitated to hand it over to him, the criminal pointed his gun to his chest while putting his finger in the trigger. The street robbery was over in a few minutes, he lamented.