A false sense of safety

While most of my friends on Facebook were posting how awesome the Sinulog festival was, none of us even heard about the robbery-murder that happened last Sunday as reported by our fellow columnist Bobit Avila.

 In yesterday’s edition of the Philippine Star, Bobit told of how Juan Carlos Villordon was shot at point blank range in the middle of a robbery that took place very near the exclusive Cebu Country Club, where a number of Cebu’s rich and famous regularly dine.

 You can imagine how shocked we were and I personally wondered how the story was kept under wraps from national media. Considering it was a robbery with murder story during the Sinulog festival, it was vital that visitors be informed for precautionary purposes.

 Just before the Sinulog festival, I already expressed concern about security measures in light of the terrorist threat that was uncovered during the feast of the Black Nazarene. Unfortunately, police and intelligence officials based in Imperial Manila declared that the Sinulog festival was unlikely to be targeted.

 In terms of terrorist threats, the police and intelligence community may have been right, but in terms of securing the safety of tourists, visitors and local residents, the police deserve a big fat zero. When a Pinoy “visitor” from Australia gets his head blown off during a “religious festival,” the police don’t deserve any commendations even if they caught the shooter and the robbery gang a few days later.

 I used to think of Cebu as a fun and peaceful place especially in the company of my very warm and charming Cebuano friends. But the last time I was there, all of the newspapers, except one, headlined the gun-totting incident where a politician’s relative reportedly took out an AK-47 and told an American, that he was the law in his village.

 Sadly the situation is no different all over the country. Filipinos carry a false sense of security but contradict this when they say “ingat” (be careful) instead of saying “goodbye.”

 While Metro Manila is in a state of alert because the government does not want any mass rallies or another EDSA revolution, citizens all over the country navigate their way through a maze of disorder and lack of law enforcement. The first sign of this is manifested in the breakdown or pile up of traffic everywhere. Cebu, Bacolod, Baguio, Cavite etc. But instead of dealing with the disorder on a national scale, government tells us to live with it because it is simply a “volume” problem.

 If you go to Bacolod, the first thing to greet you is not the great scenery but the snail pace crawl of traffic.

 I heard that some well meaning civic clubs tried to ease the problem by instituting a system of sorts but they ran up against jeepney and tricycle operators who were in cahoots with the cops and barangay officials.

 While the new system cleared the traffic, it prevented the jeeps and tricycles from making short cuts and parking illegally. In the mean time, the cops and local officials lost their “merienda money” so a “petition” was made and the Mayor was forced to take out the traffic volunteers.

 Very recently a young lady contacted me regarding a vehicular accident where someone rammed into their van causing very serious damage, not only to the van but resulting in her losing one leg. The entire incident was documented, it was recorded by CCTV camera and the vehicles plate number, which, by the way took off, thereby making it a “hit and run” was actually recorded by witnesses.

 But can you believe the fact that, the reckless and criminal driver has not been apprehended, the vehicle has not been tracked down and impounded!

 It is tragic indeed that people say the worst things about Filipinos, but no where in the world can you find a people so trusting in their institutions, so hopeful and optimistic that we continue with out false sense of security in a system that is dangerously inadequate, seriously compromised and corrupt and sadly so lacking in pro-active leadership.

 While the government smokes their hallucinogenic drugs in the form of high popularity ratings and self-hypnosis, ordinary citizens are waking up to the cold, frightening reality that we truly are not safe. Our homes are no longer safe, our cars are no longer safe, and we can’t leave bags or laptops in guarded coffee shops or even in church. For now all we can do is say “ingat.”

But unless things change, we will come to the point, back in the 70s when gunshots were common in dumpsites for criminals who were “wasted” by “taong bayan.” Lynching and mob vengeance will happen. But if people really want to get even, lets sue police and government officials for damages, just like in America. They don’t just get mad; they get even by suing officials civilly.