By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Amid the spate of hold-up and robbery incidents, along with everyday gridlock traffic, throughout Bacolod City, Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. responded by requesting media outlets “scale down the reporting of these incidents.”
He called the current situation in the city “not yet alarming” and highlighted his priority of “bringing in tourists and investors.”
The governor characterized reporting on such subjects as “being bitten by an ant.”
Recently, a resolution by Bacolod City Councilor Em Ang passed the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), which seeks to convene the SP; Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia; barangay captains; Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) acting director, Police Senior Superintendent Jack Wanky; and the city’s 10 police station commanders to address the spike in criminal incidents in the city.
According to Ang, “[Over] the last few weeks, there [have been] daily reports of hold-ups and [robberies] all over the city that have gone viral on social media.”
However, in response to the chatter on the internet, Wanky earlier declared, “Bacolod is safe.”
“If there is an agency which can declare a security threat, whether an area is safe or not, it is the PNP (Philippine National Police),” he affirmed.
Bacolod City Councilor Caesar Distrito previously responded to the said claims by characterizing those making such statements are “just scaring people.”
Earlier this week, a Davao City professor was robbed along C.L. Montelibano Avenue in Barangay Villamonte, who pointed out, prior to visiting Bacolod City, he was warned to be careful of hold-up incidents./WDJ