By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The business community here expressed confidence anew in the Bacolod City Police Office amid the series of killings in the city.
Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), Bacolod Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BFCCCI), and Councilor Al Victor Espino, who is the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s chair of the committee on peace and order, met with BCPO Director Colonel Manuel Placido regarding the concern from netizens and other sectors on the killings in the city.
Placido assured the business community that authorities are on top of the situation.
MBCCI Chief Executive Officer Frank Carbon said Monday they believe that the local police force can maintain the business confidence in the city.
Carbon noted that Placido acknowledged that businesses are worried over concerns on the peace and order situation.
“He [Placido] told us that you have to be very vigilant because if businesses are not taking it seriously then we might also, sometimes, not take it seriously,” Carbon said.
Radio reports indicated that eight shooting incidents happened in the city since January 2021. For February alone, six shooting incidents were recorded.
Carbon said they were informed by Placido that 100 additional police personnel will be deployed to the city in the next three months.
Carbon said that for the business sector, “though it might be temporary, it could help much especially in boosting police visibility during that period.”
Placido told businessmen that another move of the BCPO is to operationalize the Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operatives (Masco) probably starting next week.
Carbon said they are willing to augment the police’s fuel budget if the operatives will utilize their own vehicles.
“When you are very visible especially in the central business district, in the evening and in the morning, then it’s easy to convince the whole business community of Bacolod City to increase their confidence towards the police force,” he added.
The business groups and Placido also agreed to regularly meet once a month starting this March, along with the local government to regularly discuss issues concerning the city’s peace and order situation.
