How safe are we?

The dastardly gunning of Nicolas Ting and the gruesome murder of his brother Manuel portend that no one is safe anymore -- wish me wrong here. But the crimes were not only committed two days in a row but were carried out in broad daylight! Manuel or “Maning” (a hotelier) is a personal friend of my father whom he fondly recalls as his jogging pal back when they were with the Cebu Runners Club in the seventies together with former governor now congressman, Eduardo Gullas, renowned pediatrician Dr. Jovito Lee, Sr., shipping icon William Chiongbian and other familiar names in the business and professional circles.

They, together with Maning, used to circle around the Abellana grounds or currently the Cebu City Sports Complex around five or six in the morning and on some occasions invite politicians as guests to join them for a long run from Cebu city to the next three or four towns up north or down south. “Reserved but humorous,” my dad furthers of Maning, “yet dependable as a friend and as associate.”

It is indeed very disquieting that your being a peaceful septuagenarian finds no ounce of pity for the murderous hands of a wanton criminal. And this is something that our law enforcement must and should not take lightly. The tragic fate of the enterprising Tings bears not only the imprint of the lack of faith in the judicial process but of utter disregard for the value of life -- as if the life of any businessman hangs in a balance when things around him go wrong.

Cebu is touted as an exemplar of a prosperous province for its peace and order situation. But with what happened recently to the Tings, there is a reason for the business community to have no peace of mind at all. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) wants the cases solved for fear that it could impact the image of Cebu as an investment and tourist destination. But it just did. It doesn’t change the fact that the crime was accomplished even if the perpetrators would turn themselves over.

What should concern the business community is the crime situation in the city – how safe they are in doing business here.

I have been very concerned about this. And it was not too long ago when I wrote in this column the gruesome deaths of two friends of mine – Arnold and Roy. Arnold, a businessman was killed a day after his birthday. Roy, an engineer by profession, and a father of two young kids was shot in the head while fixing his car tires just blocks away from the Mandaue Police Station. As of this time, justice has yet to be served on those murderers who are yet on the loose.

I used to speak against Capital Punishment back when I was yet a street parliamentarian. The street parliamentarian in me will always be there but I cannot bear the thought that to commit a crime is as easy as berry picking these days that the next thing you know, your relative or friend had been gunned down without mercy.

The killings we have today have become more gruesome and have been committed without compunction that it is impossible to distinguish an ungodly murderer and a murderer who believes that he is god.

I do agree that to prevent a crime would take a lot of law enforcing – police visibility and swift rendering of justice are just among them. However, a determined killer is not deterred by the thought of just being arrested for the simple fact that being behind bars is no punishment at all but merely a temporary inconvenience.

If we are to prosper, we must come to accept the fact that there are those who are willing to abandon law for revenge, for money. That there are those who are determined to cause the sufferings of others – be they lost of property or lives. And they must be treated as enemies of the state and a danger to our economic gains -- they are to be returned to where they rightfully belong – oblivion.

If we must prosper, we must prosper as free men -- free from fear.

Send emails to [email protected]