Taking a tougher stand vs carnappers

It is about time legislators approve heftier penalties for carnapping in this 16th Congress. This crime is quite rampant in our country and has led to several heartaches, traumatizing experiences, altercations in the middle of the road, and even the death of many innocent and unfortunate motorists who found themselves the victim of criminals trying to steal their vehicle.

Carnapping, like the theft of any personal item, feels like a direct violation of your space and your privacy. It’s not just the act of stealing the car, which is already terrible, but knowing that someone has just taken what you worked very hard to earn (and may even still be paying for) plus all your personal items still in the car too. Imagine coming out of the office or the mall or the movies and not finding your car where you left it? Or worse, being caught while driving and forcibly removed from your vehicle with threat of violence or a weapon? It’s true when they say you are never really truly safe anywhere — whether it’s in your home or even while moving in your car. There are so many known modus operandi too and many of them involve tricking the driver to stop the car and get down to give them a chance to take it.

Carnapping is rampant in our country and we hear stories of it almost daily in the news. This happens a lot because cars tend to fetch a very high re-sale value from well-known crooks, whether it is for the car in total or for spare parts. Usually, these vehicles are stripped down completely so they can’t be found ever again.

Indeed, I believe carnapping is such a common crime in the country because these criminals feel emboldened by the fact that they rarely get caught or are made to suffer the consequences of their actions. Many municipal judges are lenient with these criminals and let them go free so they are confident about doing it again and again. This is why it is so important to make a statement and put the fear of the law in their hearts. If they commit a crime, especially any resulting in injury or death, than they will be made to pay the price.

In a way I can’t help but admire government officials who truly take a hard stance against crimes and make criminals fear them, like former Mayor Fred Lim of Manila and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of Davao City. These two officials do not hesitate to deal with the criminals in their cities. While some human rights activists may still oppose their methods, one can’t argue that they get results. I really can’t help but feel that we have reached a point where tough measures must be taken. We need to make criminals realize that they cannot get away with preying on innocent victims.

In fact, I would even go so far as to say that I would support the return of the death penalty. While that seems harsh to some, there are definitely some crimes that fit this punishment. After all, how can we forget that five years ago, the bailiwick of the Ampatuan clan along with their cohorts massacred 53 people, most of them journalists and even some women and children. Not only did they just unceremoniously take the lives of these poor victims, they tried to just ditch them in a makeshift hole in the earth with no regrets. Or the dastardly murders of PR man Bubby Dacer and his driver ten years ago. To this day, these crimes go unpunished, proving that the wheel of justice moves ever so slowly (if at all) in our country. This just makes criminals more confident that they will get away with it (whatever “it” is).

When it all comes down to it, tougher measures need to be taken when it comes to criminals. And I think in general, rules need to be harsher and more carefully enforced in our country as a whole. It’s not just criminals who have a blatant disregard for the law. Even regular citizens do as well when it comes to simple rules like not running red lights or wearing their seatbelts while in the car.

Which actually brings me to a related piece of news I came across the other day. This piece was about imposing a heavier fine and other penalties on motorists caught using their mobile phones while driving. I think this is a good idea as well. We all know it is against the law to use our mobile devices while behind the wheel, but so many people do it anyway. Again, just goes to show that even regular citizens can break the law with impunity. What’s more, while this may not be as serious an offense as carnapping, it has led to its own fair share of injury and even death.

In fact, studies have shown that mobile phones are one of the leading causes of road accidents, destruction, and even death in the past years. So many advertisements have been coming out showing people how taking your eyes off the road for even a second can result in catastrophe. No message or status update is ever worth risking your life over. And that doesn’t just go for car drivers but for pedestrians on the street as well. I’ve seen people running into the road with their eyes on their phone instead of on oncoming traffic.

The proposed bill on higher fines and penalties proposed by Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, chairman of the House committee on transportation is certain to pass into law and deserves our full support. Hopefully with this in effect, along with the anti-drunk driving law, our streets will be safer for everyone.

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I am glad Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales asked the Supreme Court to create “at least two special divisions of the Sandiganbayan to exclusively try and conduct continuous trial” on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) cases. It’s important we not let our vigilance against this issue die down and we can’t be bogged down by regular trial proceedings. These cases should definitely be given their own “targeted arena” where everyone can keep a watchful eye.

I can’t help but feel that the public’s demand will keep this trial going to a conclusion wherein the guilty parties will be held accountable. That is the only reason, after all, that it has gotten this far. We have to keep demanding justice against those corrupt individuals who stole from the people’s pockets to fund lavish lifestyles while many of our countrymen go without food on the table. This is something we can’t let go off as we have so many crimes of the past.