In the Dalahican Fish Port, Lucena City, Quezon, a security guard was arrested last New Year after he shot a man who tried to rob a warehouse. He caught the suspect trying to open the roll-up door. The suspect ran and the guard fired a warning shot to scare him. But they later find out that the suspect was hit and died. Now, the guard is in jail and will face charges of murder.
What is the purpose of a security guard who watches over a place? What are they carrying guns for? What should the guard have done to the suspect? Shout at him? Use harsh language? Scare him using his hands? Throw stones at him? Call the police who will arrive after the suspect has long gone? What exactly should the guard have done? And now he’s facing murder charges?
“Only in the Philippines,” is what many would say. You are a security guard. Your job is to secure a place against thieves. Then when someone tries to steal, you cannot shoot because you will face murder charges. What if the suspect is also armed, should he draw first for you to say that you are just defending your life? What if he gets the drop on the guard? In such situations, you don't think about all that. What matters is that you are alive.
In America, as soon as any part of someone's body comes into a house, you have the right to defend yourself even with deadly force. No more questions are asked if someone enters without permission. The problem is we’re not in America.
It's no different on the road. Remember the drunk motorcycle rider who entered the Skyway ramp in the wrong direction and was hit by a car and killed? The driver who was in the right direction was detained. You have a drunk motorcycle driver going in the wrong direction, hits your car, dies and you get arrested. Not to mention the extensive damage to your vehicle. It’s unbelievable that lawmakers won't even craft new laws to address this practice.
When it is clear that a driver was not at fault in an accident where someone died, he should not be jailed. If there is a video of what happened, that should be enough for everyone. As for the guards, what protocols should they follow in light of the abovementioned incident? If they are worried about going to jail and being charged with murder, how can they do their job properly?