Victims: Police did not try to pursue the suspects

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Four women were robbed yesterday by riding-in-tandem suspects at Esperanza Diola in Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City.

Police identified the victims as Wilma Dal, Marie Cris Casol, Juanita Saul, and Erlinda Paquibot, all residents of Bohol.

Police Station 4 (PS4) commander, Police Chief Inspector Ritchie Gohee, said the four were in the city in order to process documents at the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Around 3:00 a.m., the four boarded a taxi in Barangay Mansilingan and told the driver to drop them off at the NSO-Bacolod branch in Barangay Villamonte.

Upon arrival, they were held-up by two suspects aboard a motorcycle, who were armed with an unknown caliber of firearm.

The suspects forced Dal and Casol to yield their mobile phones and bags, while Saul and Paquibot managed to escape.

The riding-in-tandem suspects sped away towards an  unknown direction, while the four immediately reported to PS4.

In a radio interview, the victims expressed their dismay with police, claiming they did not try to pursue the suspects.

Gohee, meanwhile, denied the women’s claims and assured they would investigate their claims.

The PS4 chief noted, he would sanction the cops on duty at the time of the incident if their allegations are proven true.

He added, police currently have a lead on one of the suspects after the NSO agreed to release the closed-circuit television footage of the incident./DGB, WDJ