Trader loses P63K to ‘salisi’ suspects

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A businessman fell victim to “salisi,” a theft modus operandi involving two to four suspects, inside the public market of Tigbauan, Iloilo.

According to Randy Espaniola, the incident happened around 7:14 a.m. of June 22 while he was at his vegetable stall in the public market.

Espaniola, 41, a resident of Barangay Cordova Sur, Tigbauan, Iloilo, claimed losing P63,000 to the thieves.

Staff Sergeant Glenn Mark Abayon, Tigbauan police investigator, said P58,000 cash was placed in the victim’s belt bag while around P5,000 was taken from the cash drawer.

In a follow-up investigation, police learned that the money was taken by four persons who pretended to be his customers.

“Maybe, the original plan was to steal the money from the cash drawer. The robbers hit the jackpot after the victim placed his belt bag on top of the drawer,” Abayon said.

Police already have persons of interest behind the theft incident.

Abayon declined to name names but claimed they had previous police records.