• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
Authorities confirmed that three firearms recovered from the house of a most wanted person in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, who was nabbed on July 16, has been linked to 13 shooting incidents in Bacolod City, since 2021.
Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) Director PCol. Joeresty Coronica shared with the media that when they received information regarding the arrest of the suspect, they immediately requested a ballistic examination, since the suspect was on their record as an alleged gun for hire.
“We have knowledge that he is a gun for hire, so we requested to NOCPPO (Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office) a cross-matching examination between the firearms and the shooting incidents in Bacolod. It turns out that there are 13 cases that match,” he stressed, citing that the discovery was a result of efficient intelligence effort.
Coronica further clarified that the 13 cases referred to exclude the cases of Efren Banaglorioso and Romie Li, the most recent broad daylight shooting incidents in the city.
“The 13 cases involved were from 2021 up to 2025. Some of these cases were still unsolved,” he said, adding that they are conducting a deeper investigation.
Moreover, Coronica commanded the police probers to check the status of those cases and to seek the cooperation of the families to determine possible connections with the suspect.
When asked if the police can file cases against the suspect in relation to the matched killings, Coronica said that “despite the seizure of guns used in the incidents, additional evidence is needed to pin the suspect.”
The information regarding the 13 cases involved were temporarily withheld for confidential purposes.
PLt. Cipriano Lumanog III of Sipalay Component City Police Station confirmed with the DAILY STAR that the confiscated firearms linked to 13 shootings incidents in Bacolod City were recovered from the temporary house of Joemar Dumip-ig in Barangay Cartagena, Sipalay City.
The suspect was a 37-year-old jobless male from Brgy. 14, Bacolod City, who was taking refuge in the area where he was nabbed.
He added that a manhunt operation they carried out on July 16, 2025 led to the arrest of the suspect due to two standing warrants of arrest for homicide and murder in Bacolod City.
“Weeks after the arrest, we served a search warrant to inspect his house, which led us to discover three loose firearms,” he disclosed.
The Sipalay CPS had already turned over the suspect to the BCPO for legal disposition.*
