STANDARD: SEE NO EVIL
MANILA, JANUARY 23, 2011 (STANDARD) PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has developed a novel way of dealing with crime. Faced with a growing tide of murder and carjackings, Mr. Aquino suggests we stop criticizing the police and look on the bright side.
"There are so many criticisms against the [police]. But look at how many cases they have been solving," the President was quoted as saying. Call it a hunch, but we suspect this "solution" won't go over well with the families of car dealers Emerson Lozano and Venson
Evangelista, whose charred remains were discovered after carjackers posing as buyers abducted, tortured and killed them.
Nor is it likely to work with restaurateur Margarita Fores, who was robbed of her Toyota Land Cruiser at gunpoint in the heart of the central business district, in Legaspi Village, Makati, on Wednesday.
In a radio interview, Venson's father, Arsenio Evangelista, summarized what more and more Filipinos are feeling today: he no longer felt safe in or out of his home.
If you were in your house, robbers could strike anytime, he said. If you went out, you might be kidnapped or your daughter might be raped.
In a statement read at the wake for his son, Evangelista said the spate of carjackings represented a breakdown of peace and order.
"If [President Aquino] can immediately offer us an environment that is orderly, secure and free from anxiety and fear, we will not be needing a stronger reason to maintain our trust [in his] leadership," Evangelista said.
His statement, more than the President's, strikes at the heart of the matter. Filipinos no longer feel safe, and the recent crime wave is a poor reflection on the President's leadership.
Evangelista's statement was echoed by Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who said the rash of murders and carjackings gave the perception that the President was a weak leader. The criminals, he added, were testing the President's leadership with each new crime.
In the wake of the grisly murders of Lozano and Evangelista, a number of politicians and anti-crime groups have made knee-jerk calls to bring back the death penalty.
We agree with the President that this will solve nothing. But we don't believe that toning down our criticism of the police will help,
either.
To date, the official response from the Palace and the national police has been increased police visibility and checkpoints and the promise that things will get better. Such platitudes and assurances mean little, however, and do nothing to bring back public confidence.
Real results and solid arrests are best. Or, perhaps as a confidence-building measure, the President could park his "third-hand" Porsche overnight along the streets of Quezon City—and show us in the morning that it's still there.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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