A suspect in the robbery and vandalism of the San Roque Chapel inside the Subic Bay Freeport was apprehended on 18 January 2026, authorities said.

According to a report by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Law Enforcement Department (LED), the suspect was identified as Joko, 27, a resident of Barangay Bangal in Dinalupihan, Bataan.

Investigators said the suspect stole religious items, an undetermined amount of money from the chapel’s donation box, and vandalized the altar of San Roque Chapel along Dewey Avenue.

The incident was reported at around 8:15 a.m. when SG-III Ronald DJ Salonga, desk sergeant of the Communications Branch, received a call from a Tourism Department official and the chapel’s caretaker. The caretaker reported that an unidentified man wearing a white sando and black shorts vandalized religious statues and their containers before fleeing the area.

At 8:17 a.m., SG-III Antonio P. Graza Jr. of the Traffic Branch Mobile Patrol Unit, along with SO-II Eben L. Patingo, officer of the day, responded and conducted a search along Sta. Rita and Labitan streets.

Personnel from the Intelligence and Investigation Office later reported spotting the suspect near the former Legenda Laundry Station along Labitan Street. By 8:25 a.m., authorities confirmed that the suspect had been apprehended.

After positive identification by witnesses, the suspect was brought to Building 657 and turned over to Intelligence and Investigation Office personnel for documentation and disposition.

Later, Lasarino A. Galon, 42, a warehouseman at Subic International Hotel Corporation, reported that the same suspect had also stolen a 20-foot electrical wire from the ceiling of the former laundry station earlier that morning but initially evaded arrest.

The suspect was subsequently referred to the Olongapo City Police Office Station 3 for proper documentation and further investigation.