Playing with Fire
Police, media should join hands
By Gonzalo Duque
WE are excited and humbled by the growing business activities in Dagupan City.
O, sikat ka la lamet Mayor Benjie ha?
But no kidding, dear readers, with malice to none, we, ourselves, who have a modest business here are happy that more and more business activities are mushrooming in the city.
Last week, when we visited our ongoing hotel construction along Sec. Francisco Duque Road, we were impressed by the appearance of new commercial buildings like Seven Eleven, Ruby Restaurant’s new branch, Metro Bank branch, China Bank, Balot, which is a new food franchise, and many others including new offices.
This anyway should not surprise us. Dagupan, whether Benjie likes it or not, is a trading center.
Hmmm.. we see new sources of business taxes which the city government will tax in glee.
But wait a minute. We wish to caution Mayor Lim about his taxing spree. We’ve been hearing grumblings and complaints from existing business owners and managers that the city is on a big round of sky-high tax increases.
In our intimate view, this was what the goat of Dr. Macky — the gargantuan taxes slapped on local establishments. Of course, principally, his gripe was triggered by the city’s unabashed taxing of the local colleges without authority from the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
And now, a new and more brutal reason is the harsh manner the city has increased its tax collections.
Let’s tackle this briefly.
Does Benjie know that the sudden dive of President Obama’s popularity was due to his imposition of heavy taxes in the guise of strengthening his social amelioration program?
Taxes now have rallied the politicians and the American people against Obama. And so in spite of his brilliance and debating skills, Obama is facing rough sailing in his reelection bid.
In the same vein, if Benjie does not go easy on taxing the public, he’d be a goner in the next elections.
But back to the inspiring mushrooming of new business buildings in Barangay Tapuac. Nasisiim ko, manimis si Kapitan Jake. Ay, man-blow out ka la Jake ta onaasenso’s barangay mo!
* * * *
We had some junior police officials accompanied by regular Media in Action guest Supt. Gerry Roxas at the Pedrito’s last Wednesday.
It’s sad that Regional Director Bucayo and Provincial Director Boyet Ricaforte failed to make it.
There are pressing local police issues that we wanted to present to them.
We start with our own media colleagues who were victims of the breakdown of peace: the sill unsolved killing of newshen Susan Yadao’s daughter, and also the disappearance of the son of columnist Ani Lagao.
Up to now, justice has eluded these families. Is the police that helpless, gentlemen? Is it inept? Are they in cahoots with the perpetrators?
Are the gangsters more powerful than the civilian populace?
In his exasperation, Ani Lagao told us he tends to be trusting more the NBI than the police. He must have basis for this. Ani’s son, Himmil, called him up on the eve of January 27, 2008, while he, Ani, was then with his birthday celebrator, cumpadre Jun Velasco.
That was Himmil’s last call, he said. And then investigation after investigation initiated by the local police ended up in nothing. Ani even voiced the suspicion that a local police officer was in collusion with drug lords who, he suspected, were behind his son’s disappearance. He has railed against the establishment’s impotence to effect any headway in the solution of the crime. Pero wala, angapo, laos ira!
Regarding the case of Susan’s daughter, who was a nurse waiting for a tricycle from their home in Barangay Bolosan to bring her to her work place in the poblacion, it’s unusual that the local police would hit a blank corner when investigators were about to have a lead on the identity of the killer. What went wrong in the probe?
We make another call on the police leadership led by Col. Boyet Ricaforte and Col. Bong Caramat of the Dagupan police to find their bearings and solve these all-too-ordinary and yet suspiciously elusive cases. Pamilya ng mga medya ang mga biktima!
Dapat ma-solve laya, ha, Colonels Boyet and Bong?
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