PRO-6 orders Iloilo City mall robbery solved in 48 hours

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 has ordered the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) to solve the SM City Iloilo robbery within 48 hours.

Brig. Gen. Josefino Ligan, Western Visayas police chief, directed ICPO to identify, locate, and arrest the suspect who robbed a 61-year-old physician.

Ligan said ICPO is on track in pursuing the case and added that more police personnel will be deployed to Mandurriao district, where several crimes have recently occurred.

He instructed Col. Kim Legada, Iloilo City police chief, to request augmentation from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) 6, which will provide foot patrols to complement ICPO’s mobile and motorcycle units.

Ligan did not disclose the number of additional personnel but described it as “considerable.”

Dr. Ma. Lulu Divinah Salinas of La Paz, Iloilo City, was robbed and injured at the mall’s parking lot in Mandurriao on Sept. 3.

Police said Dr. Salinas, 61, suffered a head contusion after the assailant struck her with a gun while she was about to drive her car.

She told investigators she had arrived at the mall around 3 p.m. to visit a salon before doing her groceries.

Maj. Shella Mae Cambel of Mandurriao Police Station said Salinas parked about 20 meters from a guard post.

“It’s just on the third row near the nearest entrance and exit doors,” Cambel said.

CCTV footage showed a supermarket employee helped load her groceries into her car before leaving.

As Salinas entered her vehicle, an armed man approached, pointed a gun at her side, and said, “Indi ka magsinggit. Kwarta lang akon. Kuha-a. Kuha-a.”

(“Don’t scream. I only want money. Get it. Get it.”)

Dr. Salinas reached for her wallet, but the suspect grabbed it and struck her with the gun before fleeing on a motorcycle.

Police said the wallet contained PHP 50,000, USD 200, EUR 100, two senior citizen IDs, and three ATM cards.

In a Facebook post, Dr. Salinas said a “good Samaritan” later returned her wallet after it was apparently discarded near the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in City Proper.

Police said they already have a person of interest with a record of misdemeanor offenses but did not release details.

Salinas described the suspect as about 20 years old, 5 feet tall, and wearing a gray T-shirt.

Lapses in mall security?

Cambel said Salinas immediately called her husband, retired police colonel and current Iloilo Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head Cornelio Salinas.

Cornelio Salinas contacted Col. Legada, who, along with police patrols, arrived at the scene within five minutes, apparently faster than mall security.

Cornelio Salinas criticized mall guards as “very lousy.”

“They failed to act on the critical minutes to do a pursuit operation. Pa-chill-chill lang sila,” he said.

He added that the security agency had no contingency or tactical protocol.

“The guard could have made three long whistles and a short one to alert his fellow guards about the incident,” he said.

He said they should have sealed all exit points.

“Wala sila na-indoctrinate on how to cordon the area,” he added.

Netizens also criticized the lack of lighting at the parking lot and questioned the guards’ ability to respond to theft.

Cornelio Salinas said his wife is physically fine but traumatized.

“More than the money, it’s the trauma. If not solved, this kind of incident will happen again,” he said.

Meeting with mall security

Legada said he has called mall and shopping center security agencies to a meeting Friday afternoon.

He said managers and security commanders are expected to attend to discuss measures for improving security inside and outside malls.