Robbery involving Chinese gets Congress’ concern

CEBU, Philippines -  The recent robbery incident in Barangay Curva, Medellin involving four Chinese tourists has raised concern among lawmakers after Cebu fourth district Representative Benhur Salimbangon brought up the matter in Congress.

Salimbangon on September 16 related before the plenary how, on September 12, a daylight robbery was committed against four female Chinese tourists on their way to Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan, Cebu.

Salimbangon reported that all the resort operators in his district where the incident happened were so alarmed that he demanded Cebu Provincial Police Office director Noel Gillamac to resolve the case within 48 hours, which the latter had accomplished.

Given the speedy identification and arrest of the two perpetrators, Salimbangon also read before the Body the House Resolution that he authored commending Gillamac and his men and enjoined his colleagues to approve the same.

With such case, Buhay Partylist Rep. Jose Atienza Jr. urged Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez to do something about the peace and order condition in the country’s tourist spots for the benefit of the tourism industry.

Pampanga Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc took note of Salimbangon’s commendation of CPPO personnel and assured his colleague that the Committee on Rules will hasten the plenary adoption of the said Resolution.

The four Chinese were on their way to Daanbantayan on the afternoon of September 12 when two armed persons robbed them and their driver.

The robbers took at least P150,000 worth of cash and valuables from Danni Yu, 33; Peijing Zhuang, 63; Jue Zhang, 33; and Xu Wu, 32, and van driver Jerome Enriquez, 23.

 Three days after, the police arrested two persons as well as Enriquez, who executed an extra-judicial confession stating that his brother, Jelson, was the mastermind of the robbery and that he was also part of the crime. —/NSA (FREEMAN)