Cops intensify saturation drive after ‘bottle throwing’ incident

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Police Station 2 here will boost their saturation drive to prevent minors from going to restobars, following the reported “bottle throwing” incident at a restobar along 23^rd Lacson Street, B.S. Aquino Drive here over the weekend.

Police Major Sherlock Gabana, head of Police Station 2 met with Barangay 5 captain Raymundo Salaveria and The Billboard operation manager JR Rosejos at the barangay hall yesterday to discuss their actions after the said incident which circulated on social media.

Last Sunday, a 41-second video was uploaded on Facebook, showing some people running, hiding, and covering their heads with chairs after some bottles were thrown by unidentified persons in a bar here.

Gabana said he reached out to the video uploader and the latter told him that the commotion happened when a group of persons went unruly after they were told to pay as they order their liquors.

They started to throw bottles of liquors to escape since they allegedly don’t have enough money to pay for their order, he added.

However, he said that nobody was able to identify those persons, who reportedly caused injuries to some customers.

Gabana said the incident was not immediately reported but he reiterated that there were policemen deployed near the area during that time.

Gabana said they will frequently conduct police visibility in the said area to prevent the same incident.

He said that 21 minors aged 13 to 17 were brought to the police station last October 11 after they violated the city’s ordinance on curfew for minors. They were caught staying at some restobars past 10 p.m.

Last year, a commotion also took place at the said area involving some group of teenagers.

“We will make sure that the curfew for minors will be strictly implemented,” he said.

Earlier, Police Colonel Henry Biñas, director of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) has ordered it investigated, though no report has reached his office.

Gabana said the recent incident happened at the said restobar where the previous “twerking” incident also transpired.

Last year, a “twerking” video also went viral on social media at the same area, where a group of female teenagers were giving a guy a lap dance in a restobar.

Meanwhile, Salaveria said that he already received several complaints from an apartment owner against the restobar because of public disturbance.

He said that the restobar owner was previously called and advised to stop the loud music at 12 midnight since tenants of the apartment were disturbed.

The restobar would usually place their sound system outside of the establishment and will be operating until 4 a.m. which affects the tenants, he added.

Another conference is scheduled next month to discuss with all the restobar owners in the area the complaint against some of them.

For his part, Rosejos said that The Billboards which owns the area, where these establishments are located, will issue a memorandum order to adjust the business operating hours, the availability of liquors and loud music to avoid causing public’s disturbance and chaos.