G-SPAT

Violence in Baguio dangerously high (Part II)
GRACE BANDOY

Baguio has not only become the hub of call centers and universities and English Training Centers for Korean nationals in the past years, but it has significantly become the crime capital of the Philippines too. Robberies, murder, corruption and all sorts of “panloloko” thrive in Baguio today. It’s miserable.

Sometimes you wish you don’t live here anymore. All our streets are crowded with gazillions of people whose origins we don’t know. We have no freaking idea where all these people came from and what in the world they’re doing living here in our city. This population explosion we now have will change Baguio forever and it will change our lives for the worse.

Soon there won’t be enough air for all of us to breathe, not enough space for all us to live in, not enough water – I’m just kidding of course, but this could happen and we should not wait for that time to come.

The surge of crimes in the city is probably the worst consequence of over population in Baguio. I’m predicting that our jailhouse won’t be able to accommodate all the criminals who would be checking in there everyday. It will be a hassle for our police force and additional expenditure for our local government, imagine giving those criminals free food and accommodations everyday at the expense of Baguio’s taxpayers of course.

And for those criminals who have not been apprehended, well, they will continue roaming our streets and communities committing the same crimes against citizens of this city. They will go on robbing our homes, stealing the cell phones and wallets of people walking the streets, holding up men and women and children and robbing them off of their properties and will think of every possible strategy they can think of to take advantage of other people and rob them.

And these criminals will go on entering people’s homes, stealing and killing them at their own whims. These victims of violent crimes could be us tomorrow or any day soon. Rapists will go on raping and abusing women and children, sometimes murdering them if they feel like it. These gruesome crimes are unheard of or were very, very infrequent some ten years ago or more.

Today, you hear it on the news and read about it everyday. Violent crimes are committed every single day in this small city of ours. Sometimes I think all of us will become the victim of some sort of crime somehow, we’re just waiting for our scheduled date to be the unfortunate victim. And I guess this is not really far from happening.

Ask all your friends if they have been the victim of any crime (pickpocketing, hold-ups, etc.) and I’m pretty sure 97 percent of them will say yes. But to become the victim of some violent crime (i.e. rape, murder, robbery at your own home or any attempts on you of these crimes) are a totally different story.

For most of us, it will be life-changing. It will change our ways of life, our thoughts and our actions. It’s just sad that unless a violent criminal is apprehended, all we can do as citizens who are aware of the violence happening in our society is pray and be vigilant and learn to defend ourselves when we become the victims.

We can not fight off all these criminals. They are here to stay whether we hate it or not. There’s really nothing we can do but to be wary and protect our homes and tell our loved ones to be vigilant when they are out there on the streets alone. And be really prepared when and if ever a crime would be committed against us.

At least we should die fighting until the end. And hope that we get to live again even as a ghost and haunt our aggressor until he dies of fear or he lets his conscience take over and he gets to rot in Muntinlupa and in hell for good.