Killings here do not seem to come as a surprise anymore.
The question one usually asks upon hearing of sensational killings is, “Who is it this time?”
One day several years ago, it was a lawyer. Another day, it was the City treasurer; another day, it was a beauty queen; another day, it was a businessman; another day, it was a bank employee; another day, it was a cellphone dealer; another day, it was a government lawyer; another day, it was a doctor; another day, it was a private lawyer; last Thursday, it was businessman Pororoy Larena.
We have actually lost count of the sensational crimes that have occurred these past many years. We wonder how many such crimes have been solved. It may be true that the crime rate has gone down, but it is the memory of these sensational killings that will forever remain in our minds.
It would be unfair to pin the blame for the killings only on incumbent officials because they were not around when the other crimes took place. But clearly, there is a lot that needs to be done by government in the field of crime prevention.
Why has it become so easy for people to apply the “ultimate solution” to their grievances, instead of letting the wheels of justice take its course? Maybe because it is easy to either find a gun, or to hire one in these parts. Have we given up on the justice system, or is this kind of justice only for the affluent?
As we chew on how low our morality has sunk, to the extent that we think of nothing about taking a life from this planet, we must also commend the speed at which our law enforcers were able to trace the identity of the killers of Larena.
Even as the case is not yet considered solved until the criminal is brought behind bars, the performance of our law enforcers is something we could only wish for the other victims of still-unsolved crimes.
Perhaps because of technology, as claimed by the Provincial Police Director Sr. Supt. Edward Carranza, we will soon find solutions to the other cases that also shook the tranquility of our erstwhile peaceful communities.