Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Jose Maria Zayco yesterday said that the successive hold-ups of financial institutions and other establishments in Bacolod should be stopped because they are creating an impression to entrepreneurs that it is no longer safe to do business in the city.

Zayco was referring to hold-ups perpetrated by armed men against two lending firms in the city recently.

On September 14, the First Consolidated Cooperative Along Tañon Seabounds at Riza-Locsin streets was entered by two men armed with a machine pistol and a hand grenade who took P200,000 in cash and two cellular phones valued at P11,000.

A week after, the Exquisite Resources Incorporated at Burgos Street was also held up by three men armed with an AK 47 rifle, a .45 caliber revolver and a hand grenade. They took P40,000 in cash and other valuables.

Zayco said these cases are alarming and the people must be vigilant. Now is the time that we need more police visibility, especially because hold-up cases are perpetrated even in broad daylight, he added.

Zayco said the police should not use the inadequacy of their force as an alibi because these cases require immediate attention.

Bacolod officials and the police should take this matter seriously by calling for consultative meetings on how to put a stop to these cases. This is not the time to blame each other but a time to work together, he added.

He said he asked Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson to call the attention of Councilor Al Victor Espino, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Police, Security and Jail Management.

Espino recently proposed a forum with the owners of business establishments in the city next week on counter measures to protect them from criminal elements. He also pushed for the installation of CCTV's in establishments for the speedy identification of suspects.

City Police Officer in Charge Senior Supt. Celestino Guara assured the businessmen in Bacolod that they are still on top of the situation, and appealed for their patience because they are doing their best to resolve these problems.

“We don't sleep on the problem, just give us some more time because we have plans on how to resolve these cases,” Guara said.

He said the businessmen should also consider that the crime volume usually increases during the lean months. He also said he met with motorcycle clubs for the reactivation of the Anti-Crime Task Force in Bacolod.*APN

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