The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday is looking at other motives behind the recent robbery incident at a Japanese restaurant where one of the suspects went back to return the mobile phones of the victims.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Maj.Gen. Anthony Aberin told The Daily Manila Shimbun that the suspects behind the robbery are likely "trying to create another picture".

This follows an incident on Sunday night where two masked and armed men wearing motorcycle helmets robbed eight customers, including one Japanese, at a Japanese restaurant in Makati.

"We are conducting an investigation and we're conducting backtracking of the CCTV (closed-circuit television) to eventually unmask the suspects and as of now our backtracking is continuous", Aberin said

Aberin added that the suspects will be identified soon as they are conducting a backtracking for 24 hours. The suspects were last monitored roaming around Paranaque and Cavite looking for an area without CCTV.

The NCRPO chief made the statement at the sidelines of the launching of the Community Assistance Safety and Support Network (CASSN) hub at the Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz in Binondo. The hub seeks to help foreign nationals in the area. It will also be placed in high-density areas such as in Quezon City, Angeles, Baguio, Cebu, and Davao.

Meanwhile, a group of club and restaurant operators in Malate met the chief of the Remedios Police Community Precinct Lt .Carllyod Mupas on Tuesday to discuss on how to prevent crimes in the area.

Manila Association of Club and Restaurant Operators (MACRO) President Lorenzo Langomez said the main objective "is to help the police in implementing peace and order so we discussed it tonight given... what is happening in Makati wherein Makati now is in red light or red dot ... it means the peace and order as per Japan embassy, it's very dangerous now in Makati".

Langomez said MACRO has been assisting the police and barangays for more than 20 years in preventing crimes within the area with the help of radio communication and joint patrols. Marie Manalili/DMS