Bgo goes after vandals, gangs

By Gaby B. Keith

BAGUIO CITY -- This Summer Capital has set out to address and stop vandalism and gang-related problems.
     Mayor Benjamin Magalong said a team of investigators from local government offices and the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) has been looking into the problem and identified some gang members suspected behind proliferation of graffiti in walls of public and private structures.
    "It is saddening that some gangs continue to engage in vandalism to the detriment of the city's clean and orderly program but we are working closely with the BCPO to put an end to this problem," the mayor said.
    "These graffiti are symbols and they have messages. We are studying them to know their implications with the hope of addressing the problem on gangs in our city."
    Earlier, Daryll Longid of the Public Order and Safety Division the investigation lead to identification and prosecution of offenders.
    He said he has reasons to believe some "self-proclaimed artists" in the same league as the one who was caught vandalizing a mural in 2020 are involved.
    "The despicable acts these self-proclaimed artists are doing are not art. Far from it. There's nothing artistic about defacing public and private properties. If anything, these artist wannabes are nothing more than scalawags. We will find them and we will prosecute them," Longid warned.