Following daring heist in JCentre Mall, Mayor Cortes tells establishments to beef up security
Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) of the Mandaue City Police Office enter the mall where a daring heist occured past 8 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2019. |CDND file Photo/ Norman V. Mendoza
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes has called on establishment managers in the city to beef up their security following the daring robbery inside JCentre Mall on Saturday evening, October 19.
Cortes, in a statement sent to the media, said the establishments like malls and shopping centers in the city should also come up with an evacuation plan for their customers in case a similar situation would arise.
The mayor also encouraged the management of JCentre Mall “to fully cooperate with the authorities in the ongoing investigation of the incident.”
Read more: Six armed men staged daring mall heist, carted away jewelry, cash; one security guard hurt
The robbers ransacked a money changer, a pawnshop and two jewelry stores located at the ground level of the mall.
Read more: Subangdaku Police Station chief: Mall robbers took P130M worth of jewelry, P6M cash
The robbery, which was caught on cam by some mall-goers, also hurt one security personnel.
Read more: Rob group leader among four killed, five others arrested in Bogo, Sogod
Nine suspects were arrested at the Polambato Port in Bogo City hours after the incident. Four of them, however, were killed in two separate incidents. The first three were killed after they tried to grab the gun of the police officers escorting them from the Polambato Port to the Bogo Police Station. The last one killed fired at police officers who were waiting to arrest him at the Polambato wharf, the police officers fire back killing the suspect.
Read more: 3 suspects in Mandaue mall heist killed, 4 others arrested in Bogo City
Those who were killed were identified as Kevin Andales, 25; Wilfredo Enguito, 47; Philip Faborada; and Glenn Tairos, 47, whom the police believe to be the leader of the group. Tairos is from Talisay City, Cebu.
The others who were arrested are Roel Sumingit, 35; Jun Candelaria, 38; Julivy Quirante, 43; Arnel Cimafranca, 38; and James Gomez, 44.
Sumingit, Candelaria, Quirante, Cimafranca, and Andales are from Tangub City, Misamis Occidental. Gomez is from Ozamiz City, also in Misamis Occidental while Enguito is from Tondo in Manila.
Read more: In Photos: Police kill 3, arrest 4 suspects in Mandaue mall robbery
Following this, Cortes said he will be calling for a meeting with the City Peace and Order Council to assess the security situation in the city.
Cortes also encouraged the residents in the area to be vigilant and report to the authorities if there were suspicious-looking persons in their areas.
“We ask all Mandauehanons to report any suspicious-looking persons to the proper authorities,” said Cortes./dbs
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