By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – We are trying our very best.
This was stressed by Police Colonel Noel Aliño, acting director of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), in reaction to the earlier statement of Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez that dumping of dead bodies here should never happen again.
In a press briefing at the BCPO headquarters yesterday, Aliño said that he is maximizing police presence and mobility patrol in streets to intensify their anti-criminality campaign.
He added that they put up a nipa hut as a temporary detachment at the Economic highway in the boundaries of Barangays Cabug and Felisa to intensify police visibility, following the dumping of dead bodies in the said area in the past weeks.
The first incident happened on April 30 in Barangay Felisa, where human skeletons and a decomposing body of an unidentified person sealed in a sack were found dumped in a concrete pipe along the Economic highway. These victims have yet to be identified and their remains have yet to be claimed, according to the police.
It was followed by another incident in Barangay Cabug on May 2, wherein a decomposing body of a man was found along the Economic Highway. The victim, whose identity was withheld upon the request of his family, reportedly went missing in Silay City on April 18 and was previously arrested for a drug offense.
Aliño noted that there are no missing persons reported here and these victims could have been killed somewhere, as there were no traces that the crime happened in the area based on the investigation.
“Kung when ginawa (ang pagpatay)? Hindi ko rin alam kung kailan nangyari yan,” Aliño said.
Aliño said that he could not tell whether it can still happen or not. But, he assures that crime prevention measures will be strengthened, as long as he’s here in the city.
“Mapipigil ko ba? Criminal is criminal. Kahit anong gawin diyan, kung hindi mapuputol ang kalokohan, andiyan lang,” Aliño said.
“Lahat naman gagawin natin para hindi maulit. Kung maulit man, at least we did our best,” he added.
When asked if these incidents may send a warning or were challenging him upon his assumption here, Aliño said that these incidents could have a purpose. “Kaya ang mga police nasa labas. Makikita niyo andiyan lahat ng police sa kalsada,” he added.
Aliño said that they have also coordinated with neighboring areas to check reports on missing persons to aid them in their investigation.
“Kung tutuusin, mas konti nga lang dito compared sa ibang areas,” Aliño said.
Despite these incidents, Aliño said that the BCPO has not monitored a crime group or syndicated group that could be behind these cases.
Aside from the recent cases, Aliño said that he also ordered policemen to review previous cases during their weekly case conference to check the progress of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Benitez said that there’s no need for a timeline to solve these cases, adding that the city police force already knew what to do. He also said that he will give a little more time for Aliño to perform.
