FOR a local business leader, the recent killings in Bacolod City are isolated cases. What should be watched out for are the petty crimes on the streets.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said there is a need to be on the lookout for crimes like holdup, snatching and "akyat bahay."
Carbon, also the vice president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) for the Visayas, said these acts signal that people are hungry and desperate.
"[And] that could lead to lawlessness which will further drive the economy down instead of recovering," he added.
On the evening of Tuesday, August 31, 2021, a headless body of a man was dumped along Rosario Street, Barangay 38 in Bacolod City.
The severed head of the victim, who was later identified as Glen Paul Castillo, was then found at Purok Sigay, Barangay 2 in the city.
Authorities said they are looking at illegal drugs as one of the possible motives for the crime.
The victim, along with his live-in partner, was arrested in a buy-bust operation over a week prior to his killing.
He, however, posted a bail of P200,000.
On August 29, Staff Sergeant Joseph Nepomuceno, 37, a member of City Drug Enforcement Unit, and resident of Barangay 14 in Bacolod City, was shot to death by two unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants also on Rosario Street in Barangay 38.
The killing might be related to his job as anti-illegal drug operative, the police said.
Philippine National Police Chief General Guillermo Eleazar already ordered the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) and Police Regional Office (PRO)-Western Visayas to look into the killing of Nepomuceno.
Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran earlier said this is already alarming, pointing out that it's a big challenge to the police to solve the series of crimes committed around the city.
Familiran said Bacolod City had several shooting incidents that remained unsolved with no identification of the suspects.
He said the BCPO should intensify their visibility patrol along with the help of the village watchmen.
"Policemen should do their part to solve the killings so that we will have peace of mind," the official said.
For the business sector, there is also a need to watch out for the "dangers" of widespread job losses especially during this coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
"Lawlessness is a possibility if we continue to tightly restrict movement and people could not find job or livelihood," Carbon said.
This is the reason that local officials should find the balance between saving lives and saving jobs, he said.