By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) spokesperson, Police Lt. Colonel Ariel Pico, said they are not ruling out the possibility that the still-unidentified suspects in the recent Gaisano City Mall heist are the same individuals who robbed a Metrobank branch in Binondo, Manila last month.
The police official noted they are currently running into difficulty identifying the rest of the suspects as the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage they have is only limited to the area surrounding the jewelry displays that were struck.
Pico pointed out, the CCTV installed inside the mall could have been useful if not for one camera located at the exit point of the mall, which was used by the suspects in their escape.
He also said, based on previous records, the Ozamiz City crime group, led by Marlon ‘Ailon’ Parojinog, who was earlier identified as one of the suspects, previously hit the Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc., or Ceneco, in 2012, where they carted away P3.6 million in cash.
Pico added, immediately after the incident, they coordinated with the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group, Philippine Coast Guard, Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, and Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office in order to keep a lookout for the suspects; however, he admitted it is very likely they left Negros after committing the crime.
Earlier, Parojinog and another suspect, Kenneth Bonon, were positively identified by witnesses as part of the group that robbed the Bacolod City mall last week.
Police noted that both suspects have standing arrest warrants, in particular, Parojinog, who was identified as one of the suspects in last month’s robbery of a Metrobank branch in Manila.
Aside from Parojinog, the other suspects named by the Manila Police District in the Binondo bank robbery were Gilcar Dumagan Mofan, alias ‘Jing Mofan;’ Noli Bonifacio Casuela, alias ‘Lito Dapitan;’ Frederex B. Secretario; and a man identified by multiple aliases including ‘Michael,’ ‘Pilay,’ and ‘Batang Calunod.’
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso has since offered a P1 million reward for Parojinog’s capture, along with the other suspects involved in the Binondo robbery.
The suspects managed to cart away around P4.5 million worth of jewelry in the Gaisano City Mall heist./DGB, WDJ