Saturday, September 08, 2007 Gang wars in Baguio: A 'dying' concern? By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
NEVADA Square was at the height of its popularity then. For most teenagers and young adults of Baguio, this was where almost everybody wanted to be seen by everybody else, with the wide variety of "hip hop" music blaring loudly from every corner of this popular nightspot and just for the chance to "jam" with the city's more popular young crowd.
However, at 2 a.m. of July 16 last year, a group of nine teenaged boys sensed that trouble was starting to brew as usual due to the presence of the large number of "gangsters" hanging around the place. Meanwhile, the screams and seemingly untiring gyrations of the dancing crowd intensified with the music.
One member of the group signaled to his companions that they all had to leave. But since the car they would be riding was already packed full of their members -- all of whom used to belong to the same high school batch that arrived in it earlier -- three of them had no other choice but to ride in the open baggage compartment. The one driving was asked to drop the three of them off at the gasoline station located nearby, along Session Road Extension, where they would flag down a taxi instead.
But as soon as the three alighted, about 20 to 30 armed "gangsters" suddenly appeared from various directions and attacked their group.
They all tried to escape. But while two of them manage to squeeze themselves into the passenger seats of the car, along with the rest of their former classmates, one was only able to jump back into the same baggage compartment before a vicious street chase ensued.
When their attackers caught up with them along Leonard Wood Road minutes later, they dragged the lone teenager out of the baggage compartment and aided each other in striking him with punches, kicks, knives, metal pipes, bats and other weapons while the rest of his companions sped away.
That was what reportedly happened to Rez Albert Santos, 18, after he asked permission from his mother to allow him to go out for a while just to buy a compact disc where he could transfer his original rap composition into.
What his mother Elizabeth didn't know was that, after Rex bought the CD, he would meet up with two of his friends and hang out with them in a bar at Nevada Square that same night.
Although Rez was rushed to the Saint Louis University Hospital of the Sacred Heart, he died as a result of multiple skull fractures and other body injuries later.
Elizabeth, shocked to see her son's badly mutilated body in the morgue, was quoted as saying that she never expected Rez to meet a violent and gruesome death.
When asked why the victim was killed, an investigator said this may have been because he was mistaken then for a recruit of the North Side Terrorists, a newly-formed gang that his former high school classmates belonged to. The NST was reportedly considered as a threat to their alleged attackers, who were described as a merged group from both the Pinoy True Crip and Bloods Down Posse gangs.
The violence didn't end there. Two days later, while processing her son's death certificate, Elizabeth found out that another victim, JC Cuaresma, 18, was also brought to the same hospital, after he was stabbed 30 times in the different parts of his body by over 20 armed young gangsters.
A third victim, who was only identified as Ramos, was said to be a member of the Samahang Ilocano. His body, which reportedly sustained multiple injuries, was reportedly dumped along Leonard Wood Road several days later or on July 24.
Less than a week later or at 11:30 p.m. of July 30, three other young men identified as Joseph Amon, Roderick Caramonte and Vincent Adviento were ganged up by alleged members of the Bloods and Samahang Ilocano members. One of them was killed, one barely escaped alive and another almost died in the same incident in front of Nevada Square.
Records of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) showed that of the 15 gang-related crimes reported to them from July 2005 up to May 2007, eight or more than half happened in Nevada Square.
These resulted despite the formation of the United Fraternities Organization (UFO), an umbrella organization of fraternities and sororities in the city that entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Aug. 21, 2004 with the BCPO, under its former director, Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez.
Among those who signed the MOU with Nerez were representatives of the Samahang Ilokano, Genuine Ilokano, United Ilocandia, Akrho, Phi Lambda Epsilon, Crips, Bloods and Alpha Phi Omega. This was witnessed by then vice mayor now Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. and Councilor Leonardo Bayan Jr., president of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation of Baguio and chairman of the City Council committee on youth welfare, sports and development.
Aside from those already mentioned, other fraternities and gangs found to be existing in Baguio as of July 30 this year are those who call themselves as the Notorious Underground Crips, the Sacramento Tag Crips, the North Side Terrorists, the Rappers Delta Foundation, the Real Pinoy Crips, the West Side Terrorists, the Pinoy True Crips, the Sudden Death Gangsters, the Mafia Crips, the God Mob Carnalis, the East Side Thugs, the Ragstah, the Peer Group Trouble, the Souls, the Beta Sigma, the Trece Hudas, the Selda Trece, the Tropang Muslim and the True Brown Style.
Under the MOU, the groups affiliated with UFO were supposed to "establish a strategic link to forge cooperation between themselves for the purpose of coordinating efforts to fight criminality, promote peace and order, maintain a healthy and clean environment and promote the city as a major tourist destination."
The member groups also vowed to "maintain a mutual respect to the constitution and bylaws of each member organization, fraternity or sorority" and that "in case (any) conflict or misunderstanding inevitably arises between and among (their) members and officers, the (BCPO) shall act as the arbiter in resolving such conflict or misunderstanding for its amicable settlement."
That in case any member of the UFO groups violates the conditions set forth in their agreement, these members shall be subjected to disciplinary action in the form of socio-civic activities such as tree-planting, vandalism clean-up and then like.
But after the signing of the MOU, the Pinoy True Crips reportedly merged with the Bloods Down Posse, and that this alliance only served to fuel the former's "longing to establish its supremacy over all other organizations."
Bayan, in his capacity as SK Federation president in Baguio, said they are not indifferent to the problems besetting the youth today.
He explained that their present leadership has not closed its eyes on the membership of the youth of the city in gangs and pointed out that their group was even instrumental in the composition of the UFO.
In establishing the UFO, he said warring gang members were reconciled and several projects, which dwell on community services, were set up for them.
However, he said the non-continuity of the project has cut short the "peace accord" between these groups, which reportedly resulted in the resumption of street brawls.
"There was no continuity of the project," Bayan said but was quick to add that the SK is reviving the project for the BCPO and Bautista's approval.
He said the submission of the proposal only got delayed because some gangs refused to have a dialogue with members of other groups.
Because of the noted upsurge of street brawls, which allegedly stems from warring gangs, Bautista issued Executive Order (EO) 1-2007 last July 23 to set the curfew for minors from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day.
Although the experimental scheme ended on August 23, initial feedbacks revealed the curfew was effective in curtailing street crimes.
As such, another order was issued for the continuing implementation of the early curfew.
Both Bautista and Bayan said they support the continued and permanent implementation of the 7 p.m. curfew, adding that this should even be adopted as an ordinance.
Records of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) showed that the number of youth found violating the curfew for minors rose drastically from a total of 17 in the first half of 2007 to 155 during the one-month experimental period set by Bautista.
"The experiment was very successful and we managed to keep a large number of young people out of trouble and harm since this was started on July 23," CSWDO Chief Betty Fangasan was quoted as saying.
Even Cordillera Police Regional Office Director Raul Gonzales lauded the results of the experiment as he admitted that "the growing feud between fraternities (and gangs in Baguio) are becoming more violent and dangerous. Victims and suspects are young, and are engaged in illegal and criminal activities. They are armed and dangerous, and they do not fear anyone, regardless of age, as long as they see others as threats to them."
Bobby Ortega, a former councilor and chief of police of Baguio, said the solution is not solely a police concern. He said it should be a coordinated program involving the community, parents and the local government.
Ofelia Padlan, head of the guidance office at the Baguio City National High School main campus, which has the largest student population here, shared the same view when she said "it all goes back to the family."
She said although teenagers and other youth nowadays seem to be very happy-go-lucky on the outside, "they are actually lost and longing for real love inside."
Padlan said with the large number of families either broken or with parents who have to work abroad, their children feel empty and their need to belong increases up to the point that they would join any group they think they can feel comfortable with.
She said for parents, who both have to work to make ends meet, or for those who have very little time to spend at home, they should make up for this lack with "quality time with their children and not try to escape by replacing love with material things."
She said parents have to make a concrete effort to find out what is going on in the lives of their children, especially teenagers, and try to initiate long talks with them about it.
A lay pastor also advised that parents should do their best to get back the closeness they had when their teenagers were much younger, when their children loved and trusted them without question.
"Get your teenager to join in family activities without being coerced, and even to enjoy trips, visits, and playing games with you and other family members. By trying to have a better relationship with your teenager, you can be on the way to transform the quality of both your lives, and in the process, also that of the rest of your family. Who knows, with the number of street crimes where youth gangs are involved in nowadays, you may even save their lives," he said.
