EDITORIAL - Get these murderers

In the past seven weeks kidnappers have struck in Metro Manila, Bicol and Mindanao. The most vicious so far has been the abduction of two students of the University of the Philippines in Baguio City Thursday night. The body of the principal target, 22-year-old Giancarlo Leung, was found early last Sunday in Barangay San Isidro in Mexico town, Pampanga. Two hours later, the body of his friend Tihani Tingal, 26, was found in San Simon, Pampanga. Reports said the two were killed after the kidnappers sensed that the victims’ families had notified the police.

"They can run but they cannot hide forever," an enraged President Arroyo said. "One kidnapping with murder is one kidnapping with murder too many. This is a commitment of our administration. This is also our crusade."

Since assuming office, the President has avoided making promises and raising public expectations to unrealistic highs. This public commitment against kidnapping is one of the few she has made so far, and she better make sure her administration delivers. Her predecessor, who famously warned criminals in 1992 that their days were numbered, left much to be desired as the government’s chief crimebuster. He fared better against kidnappers when he became president, although there are allegations that this was largely due to a modus vivendi with the most notorious kidnap gangs. And his top crimebusters are now being implicated in some of the most sensational crimes under his watch, including a spate of bombings in Metro Manila that left scores of people dead and wounded last December.

Comparisons of the two administrations’ track record in law enforcement are inevitable. If the Arroyo administration doesn’t want to be cast in an unfavorable light, it should start producing results. The administration is entering its third month, and its law enforcers can no longer claim a transition as an excuse to be outsmarted by the bad guys. People need to feel secure, to have faith in the new leadership of the Philippine National Police. The PNP can start by getting the murderers of Leung and Tingal.