A Mindanao-based organized group is being eyed as behind the holdup of P3.6 million from the Central Negros Electric Cooperative office in Bacolod City Friday.

City Police Director, Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, said yesterday that they already have the names of the suspects, although he refused to reveal them pending the filing of the case.

De la Paz said the Bacolod City police was able to secure the pictures of the suspects and presented them to the witnesses, who have positively identified them.

He added that, hours after the robbery at CENECO Friday, they went to an area in Bacolod City, where the hideout of the robbers was allegedly located, but failed to arrest them.

The Bacolod City police has the plate numbers of the Hilux pick-up and the three motorcycles used by the suspects as get away vehicles. They are also coordinating with the Camp Crame in Metro Manila and other police units in the country for the immediate arrest of the suspects, De la Paz told the DAILY STAR.

The police is warning business establishments in Bacolod that the suspects could still be in the city and might victimize another firm.

CENECO president Arnel Lapore said the coops’s board met n Friday and may offer a bounty for the immediate arrest of the suspects.

Lapore said they have already installed eight closed-circuit television cameras in the firm and will install ten more this week. He said they will revise their security measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

He also appealed to consumers to bear with them for a while because, effective today, security at the electric firm will be stricter.

Lapore stressed that the robbery incident will not affect their operations and they will not pass on to the consumers the obligation to pay for the money lost, because the firm has an indemnity bond

The brown- outs in several areas in Negros Occidental yesterday and in Bacolod City were caused by systems maintenance and had nothing to do with the robbery, he said.*APN

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