EDITORIAL - Daring

Even if there might be some public support for the return of capital punishment, it could take years and a new administration before the necessary law can be passed. That’s time that law enforcers do not have, so the Philippine National Police should stop wishing for the return of the death penalty. Children are being raped and killed, armored vans are being robbed at gunpoint and security guards being shot dead in the streets. Immediate, decisive action is needed to keep the public safe.

The latest incident was particularly daring: at 10:30 a.m., on the crowded Ortigas Avenue section of Robinson’s Galleria, about six men intercepted personnel of Security Bank who were delivering cash to a money changing shop. The robbers shot dead a security guard, wounded at least six other people, and then lobbed two grenades before fleeing on motorcycles with their loot. It was the first time that a robbery was staged at the shopping mall, which is located in an area that always teems with cops and traffic aides.

Investigators said yesterday they were exploring similarities in the heist and a failed one on an armored van that was delivering cash to a money changing shop at the Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa last February. Staged at around 11 a.m., the attempted heist left one of the armored van security guards and a robber dead in a shootout. The robbers fled on motorcycles after failing to take any money.

Where do robbers get guns and grenades in this country? And how do they know the schedules of money deliveries in armored vans? Several years ago there was also a spate of daring robberies of armored vans, with suspicion focusing on a politician who needed campaign funds. The suspicion was not borne out, but anti-crime groups have noted in the past that kidnapping for ransom and crimes against property tend to spike in the run-up to election campaigns.

It is always possible that ordinary criminals are involved in the recent robberies. As in any other crime, failure to arrest the perpetrators is sure to encourage more heists. Waiting for capital punishment is not the answer. Effective crime solution and prevention will keep the streets safe.