Group alarmed by robberies at Digos Internet cafés

DIGOS CITY, Philippines—Internet café operators here were alarmed by yet another robbery and urged the authorities to intensify their peace and security efforts.

Willie Aniñon, president of the Digos City Internet Café Association, on Wednesday said that barely a month after motorcycle-riding armed robbers struck at an Internet café on busy Sacred Heart Avenue, another establishment was robbed Tuesday evening.

Investigators believed that the robbers in both cases were the same.

Aniñon said the boldness of the robbers was cause for alarm as it compromised the safety of café users and the Internet business in general.

In Tuesday’s robbery, a female Internet user was nearly shot by one of the robbers for refusing to hand over her digital camera

Superintendent Hubert Abadia, Digos police director, said their immediate response to the robberies was to increase police visibility.

But Mayor Joseph Peñas said more action was needed, such as intensification of intelligence gathering.