EDITORIAL - Crime spree

Over the weekend a seaman’s wife and her 15-year-old daughter were brutally stabbed to death in their Caloocan home, a financial consultant was shot dead by four men who barged into his home also in Caloocan, while men posing as power firm employees robbed a home in Marikina, raping a member of the household.

Even cops are not safe. Police investigators are looking for a young man who shot Senior Superintendent Ted Quiaino in a bar in Pasig City last Friday. Quiaino, chief of staff of the finance department of the Philippine National Police, survived a gunshot to the head.

Safety, particularly in one’s home, is a basic need of every individual. The barangay system, working in tandem with the PNP, is supposed to enhance public safety. The spate of deadly and violent crimes in just one weekend in Metro Manila is not reassuring for the public. There is a breakdown in law and order that is not being properly addressed.

The attacks are on top of reports of a resurgence of kidnapping for ransom in Metro Manila and neighboring areas, and reports that carjacking operations continued even after the arrest of brothers Raymond and Roger Dominguez. This indicates that the intricate network necessary to sustain a major carjacking operation remains intact. Another sibling, Ryan, is being eyed in the recent murder of a star witness against the Dominguez brothers.

A zero crime rate is unlikely in this country, particularly in Metro Manila. But a government must be able to provide a modicum of safety for the public – and not just for certain VIPs, or those who think they are VIPs, who want special protection. Safety is a right that should be enjoyed by everyone. Recent attacks, with the perpetrators still at large, are creating the impression that no one is safe.