Council asks Talisay cops to act on robberies

With the series of theft and robbery incidents in Talisay City, the City Council has now stepped in to call on the police to make immediate action on the complaints of some of the victims.

City Councilor Danilo Caballero authored a resolution asking Superintendent Germano Mallari, chief of Talisay City police, to act on the reports, some of which were posted on the social media and became viral.

He said there were so many individuals who expressed concerns about their security while staying in Talisay.

"Dili gyud maayo nga ato ning pasagdan busa atong gihangyo ang kapulisan nga mohimo og aksyon. Tinabangay lang ta aron masulbad ang problema," Caballero said.

Vice Mayor Romeo Villarante said there is a group of minors who victimize unsuspecting individuals walking along the road by slowly tearing their bags to get their belongings. He also said there is a separate group of robbers who have not been arrested yet.

"Wala’y police presence sa Tabunok, zero visibility gyud. Ato lang pahinumduman ang kapulisan kay basin pud og na- busy tungod sa kadaghan pud nila nga gitrabaho," Villarante added.

Mallari, for his part, told The FREEMAN that crime volume last month increased because their personnel decreased. This as some of his men were deployed in Cebu City as augmentation force during the Sinulog Festival and the International Eucharistic Congress.

He said minor violators could not be imprisoned and only to be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Once the agency turns them back to their parents, they reportedly go back to their routine as thieves and robbers.

He also urged the public who had fallen prey to robbers to pursue charges against the perpetrators.

"Dili naman gud ni sila mo-interes mo- file og kaso labi na og ang ilang mga butang ma- recover. Makagawas ra gihapon ang mga dinakpan," Mallari said.

Last Sunday evening, a Korean national lost her iPhone when an unidentified person bumped on her while she was walking in Barangay Tabunok.

The victim, Ha Kyeong Lee, 21, told the police that the suspect succeeded in taking away the phone worth P20,000.

A 19-year-old-girl identified as Al Jane Plaza was also robbed by men onboard a motorcycle in Sitio Garden, Barangay Poblacion, still on Sunday night.

Police Officer 3 Ferdinand Pablo said when the victim was showed the rogues gallery, she pointed the faces of Jo Brian Caballero and Jeffrey Caparida as the ones who took her slingbag which contained her cellphone, P1,200 cash and other important documents.

Pablo said Caparida's group gained notoriety for robbing people onboard their motorcycle.