EDITORIAL — Arming traffic enforcers is a ridiculous idea

Does Cebu City police chief Melvin Gayotin ever think on his own or does he merely parrot what Mayor Tomas Osmeña says? Hardly had the words tumbled out of the mouth of the mayor that he wants to arm traffic enforcers than the police chief comes chiming in that it is a great idea.

Wow, with thoughts like this, it becomes extremely difficult to determine which is worse, the idea itself or its conjurers and supporters. What is very clear, however, is that if Cebuanos are very dismayed with the kind of leadership they have, then they have every reason to feel so.

Osmeña does not care whether he comes up with a brilliant idea or a dumb one. What is important to him is that it is his idea and that he is going to push it, no matter what. Not even God can tell him to drop it.

As for Gayotin, why does everything have to come from Osmeña? If the idea to arm traffic enforcers was so hot, how come he never thought of it himself? He probably did not because it was clearly not so hot. It only became so when Osmeña pushed it.

And now Gayotin appears to have appointed himself as its most aggressive endorser. He is heralding the idea as if it is the greatest thing to ever happen to a traffic enforcer. "The traffic enforcers are exposed to danger, too," Gayotin explains.

Why, and so are we, sir. But because you and your boss now want to arm traffic enforcers, making them the only traffic enforcers in the whole wide world to be armed, there will even be more guns out there and our lives will be in even greater danger.

A gun is a killing instrument. At the very least, it can harm and maim. Among policemen and other law enforcers, we can accept the fact because guns are an entitlement to their jobs. Other than that, however, their presence becomes unnecessary and becomes an unwarranted risk.

Please, Sir Gayotin, if there is some way you can let this thing pass, please ignore it till it dies a natural death. Traffic enforcers just do not need guns to do their jobs. If they think they are in danger, the gun is not the solution. They can always look for another job.