EDITORIAL - A certain amount of daring

Just a few days ago we wrote an editorial about criminals just dumping the bodies of the victims they killed, two such victims were recently found in Cebu.

Now, according to a report in Philstar.com, nine foreigners were found dead, their bodies dumped in different parts of Pampanga. This is not to count the bodies of a Filipina beauty queen and her Israeli fiancé that were found dumped in Capas, Tarlac.

Are some criminals just getting sloppy or is it the opposite; are they getting more gutsy?

It takes a certain amount of daring for a criminal to just dump their victim where people can find them. It’s practically leaving a trail of clues to be found, with the biggest and most incriminating piece of evidence --the body itself-- being the first calling card.

Aside from being an insult to the family of the victims, it’s like saying “come and get me if you dare.”

In places like the most violent parts of Mexico, leaving a body where it can be easily found can also be a statement, a fear tactic, a form of intimidation. This is often the case of drug cartels leaving the bodies of their victims in public places for all to find, but we don’t think this was the case with the victims here.

In the case of the bodies found dumped in Pampanga, perhaps the criminals were not looking to intimidate but were rather feeling safe doing so, banking on a dearth of identification, because in all likelihood those foreigners entered the country under false documents and pretenses.

Criminals who dump the bodies of their victims are practically laying down the evidence trail that will eventually lead to them. They do so whether by their own daring or in the confidence that someone higher up is protecting them. We hope our lawmen are up to the challenge of finding them and arresting them to prove them wrong.