Murder of Nida Blanca

One of the functions of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board is to do away with presentations of violence for violence’s sake in movie and television screens. Last Wednesday, actress Nida Blanca, a Board member of the MTRCB, found herself a personal victim of sadistic murder right in the building that houses the MTRCB office. She was stabbed 13 times and left to die at the back seat of her car that was parked on the 6th floor of the Atlanta Center Building.

From the facts gathered so far, robbery was not the motive of the crime. Everything indicates that it was murder committed because of a personal grudge.

What we decry most about the incident is that the murder could have been possibly avoided if security had not been lax in the Atlanta Center Building. The parking lot allocated to members of the MTRCB Board has been the scene of a series of vandalism and robberies. Board members who utilized the parking area assigned to them had been complaining that their cars were senselessly destroyed or robbed because there was no security guard assigned on the entire floor. Management’s answer was to simply post a sign that said that the building owners were not responsible for the safety of the cars inside their premises. No security guard was even assigned to ensure safety in the area. Buildings we understand are supposed to allocate at least five percent of their income for security. Last Wednesday, Nida Blanca paid with her life for this total lack of security.

Last September 10, the MTRCB employees had another threatening experience. The MTRCB office occupies two floors in the building – the 32nd and the 33rd. Fire broke out in the 27th floor. Three employees of the MTRCB had to be rescued from the 33rd floor. The fire was never reported in the newspapers because the World Trade Center disaster in New York hogged the front pages.

As a result of the fire, only one elevator works in the Atlanta Center Building and it can no longer take a full load. An engineer has warned us that it is very risky to take such an elevator as the fire had probably partly melted the elevator cable.

We wish that the authorities would look into this matter.

We really feel very sad about the brutal murder of Nida Blanca. She was a very kind person. We truly cannot imagine how anyone would want to harm her. Not only was Nida Blanca, a very popular actress, she was also a credit to the Board of the MTRCB. She enforced the rules of the MTRCB to the letter.

A TV advertisement she did with her husband, Rod Lauren, showed them as a happily married couple. We can’t forget the lines they say.

Attributing their joy for life on the product they were endorsing, her husband says: "We are healthier!", to which Nida Blanca adds, "And happier!"

The person or persons responsible for putting an end to her healthy and happy life should be tracked down and be made to pay for their inhuman crime.