The recent twin murders in broad daylight that happened within Iloilo City has alarmed Mayor Jerry Treñas as it happened when the city is about to finish the preparations for the world-renowned Dinagyang Festival. He then directed Col. Martin Defensor of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) to immediately resolve the twin cases. Defensor, on his part, assured the city mayor that the police is on top of the cases which they consider as isolated.

Interesting facts of the cases indicate that it happened few minutes apart. The first victim, Allain Muller, a call center agent and allegedly a drug personality, was shot dead in Brgy. Cuartero, Jaro at around 12:05 p.m. on January 19, 2020 and at around 12:30 p.m., Delfin Britanico, a businessman, was murdered in Brgy. Nabitasan, Lapaz. 

Brgys. Cuartero and Nabitasan are within the city and are not too far from each other. Theoretically, a massive police manhunt and reaction force responding to the Cuartero incident will place Nabitasan as one of the possible entry and exit points of the perpetrators and those authorities responding to the crime from the city would actually pass by the route as it is not severely congested.

While the family of Britanico eyes the crime as business-related and there are those who are looking into a traffic altercation involving the victim as a possible motive, the fact remains that his death is associated by way of proximity of the time of incident to the murder of Muller.

The murder of Muller comes too close to the time President Rodrigo Duterte administered the oath of office as new chief of the Philippine National Police to Lt. General Archie Gamboa.

Of course, these circumstances are mere narratives of possible coincidences but of all the broad daylight murders involving motorcycle-riding men that have happened in this city, it’s also valid to raise a very simple question: Have the police solved one single case?

This is not to point the accusing fingers to the esteemed organization of the PNP but would it hurt to ask if the organization is actually doing something to prevent these murders?

It is only logical for Treñas to be worried as these crimes might create an impact to the well-preserved order of the city in holding the Dinagyang Festival. To say, however, that the police must resolve the cases immediately, one can only raise an eyebrow.