EDITORIAL - Living dangerously

Even before the mastermind in the murder of former Pasig congressman Henry Lanot could be identified, another prominent individual was killed yesterday. Alicia Ramos, assistant secretary for Asian and Pacific affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs, was strangled to death by burglars who broke into her home in Palanan, Makati at daybreak yesterday.

Ramos’ sister managed to escape. Reports said that instead of calling for police help, she headed for a hospital where another sister was confined. Her move was not surprising, considering that only the other weekend, three policemen were wounded in a shootout with fellow cops. The three were accused of robbing an employee of P10,000 in cash as he emerged from a bank in Pasig.

Rogue cops are just among the many problems that contribute to rising lawlessness in the country. Loose firearms continue to proliferate. Anti-crime campaigns, such as the one cracking down on vehicles without license plates, are rarely sustained. Last week the Metro Manila police command announced it would enforce the "no plate, no travel" policy, and denied that the campaign ever waned. Yet vehicles with commemorative plates or no plates at all are becoming ubiquitous once again in the streets of Metro Manila.

In the past months there have been some gains in the campaign against criminality, notably in the fight against kidnapping. Last week the police reported a 21 percent drop in the crime volume in Metro Manila from the previous year. But the assassination of Lanot while he was having lunch in a crowded restaurant in Pasig, and now the killing of Ramos in her home will make citizens sniff at those statistics.

In the streets of Metro Manila, people get killed for refusing to hand over a cell phone. It is not unusual to wake up and discover that your car’s side windows are missing. The more luckless will find the car gone. At least those car owners are still alive. Ramos did not stand a chance against her assailants. Clearly, more needs to be done in the battle against criminality. Rosy statistics alone will not make citizens feel safe in the streets and their own homes.