Heightened police visibility in malls after shooting incident

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) will increase visibility patrols in shopping malls and other populated areas following a shooting incident that killed a tricycle driver on Rizal Street, Barangay 12 here on Tuesday night.

The victim was identified as Joenel Pahilanga, 29, of Kabugwason, Barangay Mansilingan here.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Bonifacio Ancajas Jr., BCPO’s public information officer, said they will strengthen police assistance desks (PADs) in malls to assist security guards in ensuring the safety of mall-goers.

Ancajas said that personnel of Police Station 1 are frequently conducting roving in the area, but criminal elements just wait for an opportunity to strike.

Pahilanga was gunned down by an unidentified lone perpetrator on a motorcycle around 7:30 p.m., according to Police Major Elmer Bonilla, head of Police Station 1.

Bonilla said the victim was sitting on his tricycle parked near a shopping mall when the gunman approached and shot him from behind.

Pahilanga suffered a lone gunshot wound in the head and was declared dead in a hospital, according to Bonilla.

Police recovered from the scene an empty cartridge of a .45 caliber firearm.

The incident happened a few meters away from the police station. Bonilla said that policemen immediately responded after receiving the report, but they failed to corner the fleeing suspect.

Bonilla said they have no lead yet on the motive of the incident.

The area was crowded with passenger jeepneys and other vehicles and there were vendors across the street, but no other injuries were reported, according to Bonilla.

He said they will look for a copy of a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage to help them identify the suspect, whose face was covered with a helmet.