'Tighten mall security'

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang called on the management of shopping malls in the country to tighten their security following two separate shooting incidents in two different malls in Quezon City and in Pampanga.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the management and security agencies of malls must protect the safety of the public.

“We hope that your security agencies will be more strict in frisking the bags and frisking the persons’ belongings. It’s a concern for the public that we see security agencies, security personnel frisking us and it turns out guns are still able to enter the mall premises,” Lacierda said.

“We would like to ask mall agencies, mall management to be more firm in enforcing security within their premises. We understand...malls are quasi-public place. It’s privately-owned but the public is always there so we hope that they will be aware of the safety of the public patronizing their malls,” he said.

Lacierda said he got the impression that security at malls was strict because of the frisking, which was not allowed in other countries.

A jilted wife shot her husband and accidentally killed a security guard in a mall last week while two teenagers also got involved in a shooting incident in San Fernando in Pampanga early this week.

Meanwhile, the Manila Police District (MPD) will be conducting “random testing” of mall security in the city including bringing in plainclothes police personnel to see if they are really doing their jobs.

MPD head Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla said the random tests for mall security is to prevent incidents similar to the shooting that happened in the two shopping malls.

Rongavilla said it is expected that security in shopping malls will be heightened due to the incident, especially with the expected influx of people during the holiday season.              – Sandy Araneta