I've been quiet for too long about the rising crime rate in my beloved hometown (Los Banos, Laguna) and my beloved school where I graduated (University of the Philippines Los Banos). I poured my silent prayer for justice for Given Grace Cebanico, a UPLB student who was raped and murdered last year. I hoped that the crime such as that would not happen again. But then, just a few months after the incident, another hideous crime happened again in the same town. Not just one...but two, which happened within a week! One of them was a female high school student who sells sampaguita just outside the university campus (Rochel "Cesil" Geronda) and a male third year college student from UPLB (Bernard Penaranda). My anger began to rise because of the incompetency of the local government and police officials to protect the town from dark hearted people. And now, I finally find myself blogging about it.
Having 3 murders within a short span of time in the same town is very alarming. It's like terrorism itself. A large group of population inside Los Banos are students from University of the Philippines. So I can just imagine the shock and fear of the parents of the students, especially those who came from afar. And I'm sure that incoming freshmen are already having second thoughts whether to pursue their studies in UPLB or not.
What made me actually upset was Mayor Anthony Genuino's (the current mayor of Los Banos) proposed solution to the problem. He blamed illegal drugs. He said that illegal drug usage is the root cause of the serial killings in the town. His solution was to put up more street lights on strategic locations and to put up police outposts nearby the university. (Read news article here).
Will his solution solve the problem? It may decrease crime rate (hopefully), but it would not eliminate the root cause of the problem--- which is illegal drugs.
He did not say anything about combating illegal drugs users and pushers in the town. He did not say anything about putting up check points so that suspicious cars, tricycles, and motorcycles can be searched strictly (so that holdups can be avoided). He did not even give words of comfort or assurance to the people that everything is under control, and that he has this heartfelt urge to protect his townspeople (or probably this part wasn't written in the news, that I didn't know). In my opinion, his proposed solutions are insufficient. Just thinking that the supposed-to-be-who-we-call-leader of our town showed inability to give adequate solutions that would address the root cause gives me the headache. If what he's going through now was a college thesis or research paper, he would probably have failing marks. Disappointing, isn't it?
What made me actually upset was Mayor Anthony Genuino's (the current mayor of Los Banos) proposed solution to the problem. He blamed illegal drugs. He said that illegal drug usage is the root cause of the serial killings in the town. His solution was to put up more street lights on strategic locations and to put up police outposts nearby the university. (Read news article here).
Will his solution solve the problem? It may decrease crime rate (hopefully), but it would not eliminate the root cause of the problem--- which is illegal drugs.
He did not say anything about combating illegal drugs users and pushers in the town. He did not say anything about putting up check points so that suspicious cars, tricycles, and motorcycles can be searched strictly (so that holdups can be avoided). He did not even give words of comfort or assurance to the people that everything is under control, and that he has this heartfelt urge to protect his townspeople (or probably this part wasn't written in the news, that I didn't know). In my opinion, his proposed solutions are insufficient. Just thinking that the supposed-to-be-who-we-call-leader of our town showed inability to give adequate solutions that would address the root cause gives me the headache. If what he's going through now was a college thesis or research paper, he would probably have failing marks. Disappointing, isn't it?
