Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Wenceslao: Sensational crimes By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
IT'S not that Cebuanos are strangers to robberies and killings. Those crimes have been a staple of our peace and order setup for eons already. Most of the robberies and killings that we know of, however, involve us ordinary people so authorities give them but a second look. Ditto with the media, which is partial for the “rich and the famous.”
Sensational or major robberies and killings do not happen often, but when they do people sit up. Why? Because these crimes, save probably for their perpetrators, involve the not-so-ordinary. Consider the three incidents the past two weeks: the recent pawnshop heist and the killings of lawyer Richard Sison and PDEA agent Priscillano Gingoyon, Jr.
Under normal circumstances, such incidents would not make us shudder. Indeed, the status of both sensational and petty crime in police statistics is the same: they’re mere numbers. That is why despite the Oro Sugbo-Agencia Anne robbery and the killing of Sison, statistics may even tell you that the number of crime incidents in the city is down.
What makes sensational robberies and killings worrisome, however, is if these are by-products of acts that are organized or pervasive. I therefore understand the concern of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña about the pawnshop robbery. One sign of the plunge in the peace and order setup is the existence of crime syndicates---well-funded and armed.
The Oro Sugbo/Agencia Anne robbers were not loose change. They had bigger capital poured into their operation than what petty criminals could ever imagine. They bought a Light Ace van worth P127,500. They used high-powered firearms. And they probably spent more casing their target and laying down an effective operation plan.
Organized crime groups hit bigger targets and can be more violent, meaning, they are dangerous. There are many of them in, say, Metro Manila involved in what can be called areas of specialization: kidnapping, carnapping, robbery, etc. In the Oro Sugbo-Agencia Anne robbery, most of the members of the group probably were from Mindanao.
Of course, that is not assurance enough. Dayo crime syndicates are no threats if they remain dayo. Unfortunately, they seem to have affection for Cebu, probably because of the number of targets and the “softness” of our law enforcers. They must be thinking they can operate here at will with the least damage to their group, and then head home.
As for the killings, consider this. One angle being considered in the Sison murder is linked to the illegal drugs trade. And there’s no doubt Gingoyon’s killing was drug-related. Is the drug problem in Cebu getting worse we are becoming another Colombia? Vigilantes. Hired killers. Now assassins in the illegal drug trade? The number is growing.
By the way, I was still a young boy when “Presing Gingoyon” became almost a household name. I just could not be definite about his story now. I think he also died a violent death. I reckon Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operative Priscillano Gingoyon Jr. was his son. If so, did history repeat itself?
