BACOLOD City Councilor Ricardo Tan, chairperson of committee on peace and order, urged the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to intensify its visibility patrol during night time.
Tan issued the call over the weekend after an Israeli national was shot by one of the three unidentified men who robbed the two customers of his restobar at Tito Sam’s Place, Mediterranean Food, Cafe and Snack Bar on C.L. Montelibano Avenue last week.
Police identified the victim as Shmuel Haimovitch, 60.
Chief Inspector Ritchie Gohee, head of Police Station 4, had earlier said that Haimovitch was inside the establishment with his wife, when the three men on a motorcycle arrived and declared a hold-up.
Haimovitch tried to stop the assailants who robbed his wife’s two friends Carmen Cuadra, 63, of Baranngay 1 and Marilou Mills, 60, of Barangay Estefania, but one of them fired at him.
Haimovitch sustained a minor injury.
“We have to be vigilant to arrest the ‘riding-in-tandem’ suspects, and it is the job of our policemen to neutralize them,” Tan said.
He said visibility patrol is a big help to arrest robbery suspects operating at night.
“We have to cooperate with the police to arrest and file charges against the perpetrators,” Tan added.
He also urged business establishment owners to put up closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to help the police investigation.
Village officials should also do their part to ensure the safety of their residents, he added.
“It is an isolated case (referring to the incident involving the Israeli national), and maybe it is because of poverty,” the councilor said.
Tan pointed out that he is not against the proposed ordinance against “riding-in-tandem,” but said more time is needed to study the proposal, and some provisions should be changed like the time and the exemption rules.
