The Philippine Online Chronicles

A fourth-year Political Science major is in critical condition in the surgical ICU of the Capitol Medical Center (CMC) after being attacked and robbed by four assailants in the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) campus yesterday.

Lordei Camille Hina was hit with an ice pick above the left temple, which fractured her skull and knocked her unconscious, say medical reports from CMC.

In a report by UP's student organ Philippine Collegian, the UPD police arrested Carlos Pecayo, 34, of Antipolo minutes after the crime occurred in Vinzon's Hall. The Quezon City Police are presently conducting a manhunt for his three accomplices, one of whom has been identified as Dante Santos, also of Antipolo.

“[Their motive] was to rob, as they disguised themselves as people applying for a booth at the upcoming UP Fair,” Sgt. Cesar Oliquino of the UP Diliman police said in Filipino. Hina's bag, two laptops and an ice pick were recovered from Pecayo.

Pecayo attempted to escape the campus via taxi. However, the Vinzon's security guard, Gerry Docto, noticed Pecayo entered the building empty-handed but left the building with a backpack, and reported the taxi's plate number to the UPD police. Guards intercepted the taxi as it was about to leave campus.

UP has stepped up its security measures, especially in Vinzon's Hall, the campus's traditional student center and home of the University Student Council.