MANILA, Philippines -- Cases of cellular phone theft in the Philippines went up in 2009, based on figures released by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

The NTC received a total of 813 actual cases of missing cellular phones from January to November 2009. Metro Manila registered the highest number of cases at 785.

The commission said the total figure was 10 percent higher compared to the previous year. The figures do not include unreported incidents of cell phone losses.

The NTC also receives reports of stolen cellular phones daily, which are different from actual cases the NTC handles.

The NTC said its One-Stop Public Assistance Center receives at least 10 reports of stolen cellular phones daily.

Among the victims was Maria Theresa Dee, mother of matinee idol Enchong Dee.

Tracking doesn't work

Mrs. Dee went to NTC to report that she lost her i-Phone, 2 Samsung phones and 2 Motorola phones. The 5 items went missing shortly before New Year’s Eve.

She was frustrated to find out that the telecommunications companies could not trace any of her phones despite one of them having a tracking device.

“Ang sabi sa akin mate-trace lang daw nila kung tanggapin ng may hawak ng celfone. Eh kung magnanakaw nga ang may hawak ng celfone alangan namang pumayag siyang i-trace,” said Mrs. Dee. “Disappointing talaga.”

Carlos Villarina, a staff of the NTC’s One-Stop Public Assistance Center, said at least 20 cases of cellular phone snatching takes place in various Metro Rail Transit stations each week.

“Ang ginagawa nila ‘pag tumunog ang warning sound, sasara ang pinto sa MRT, biglang dudukutin ang cell phone at saka tatalon para ‘di na sila mahabol pa,” he said.

Text scams

The NTC also cited an increase in text scam cases from 2008 to 2009.

The commission received a total of 1,200 reports of text scam cases from January to November 2009. The figure is nearly 300 cases higher compared to the 922 incidents from January to December 2008.

The NTC said it will be more convenient for cellular phone users to ignore the text scams, especially if the messages came from strangers.

The commission said it expects cases of text scams to increase as the election season approaches.

The NTC said some of the scams could be disguised as part of fund raising campaigns for political candidates. - With a report from Maricar Bautista, ABS-CBN News