Earthquake monitoring equipment amounting to over 1.2 million was discovered missing on Wednesday, 6 Aug., during a routine maintenance activity by Pinatubo Volcano Observatory, Phivolcs reported.

State volcanologists said the San Jose Observation Station in San Jose, Tarlac, was forced open and its equipment stolen.

Among the items taken were the usual solar batteries worth P70,000 and a state-of-the-art Kinemetrics Q330HRS+ Quanterra digitizer worth about P1.144 million.

Quanterra digitizers record and convert to usable formats all earthquake signal data that is detected by sensitive seismic sensors connected to specialized cables.

Meanwhile, VPSJ operates a state-of-the-art borehole seismic sensor for critical recording of a wide range of volcanic earthquakes caused by magma intrusion beneath Pinatubo Volcano and for detecting tectonic earthquakes for the Philippine Seismic Network.

The Risk Reduction and Preparedness Equipment Protection Act of 2012 penalizes the unauthorized taking, stealing, keeping, or tampering of government risk reduction preparedness equipment, accessories, and similar facilities.

Phivolcs enjoined local government units and communities in and around Pinatubo Volcano to help keep volcano monitoring facilities safe from illegal acts "so that operational coverage of every sector of the volcano can be sustained for their collective readiness and safety."

"Any information concerning the above case of theft, as well as all prompt reporting of similar incidents in the future, will be of great importance to our collective safety," it added.

Wednesday's theft marks the third incident for the station, following theft of its solar panels in October and December 2024.