Punchline
Where are the CCTV cameras?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THE provincial board should already call for an audit on the level of compliance to the provincial ordinance requiring business establishments to install CCTV cameras in their premises. Here’s why.
Going by the experiences of cities of Metro Manila, the CCTVs not only helped the police in solving robbery and homicide cases but already are beginning to be effective deterrent to the commission of crimes in their commercial districts and in barangays. Given this, it is not farfetched to think that criminal syndicates are already moving to the provinces where the chances of their being detected and caught are practically nil. Translation: There are not many CCTV cameras to record their presence!
From where I sit, Pangasinan has all the ingredients to make it a perfect target for criminal syndicates whose specialties range from kidnapping to robbery, guns-for-hire to white slavery to illegal drug trafficking, etc. Consider that the province has more cities and bigger commercial districts than any province in the region. It has the most number of banks, malls, retail stores, pawnshops, and if I may add, the most number of politicians! And above all, very few have installed CCTV cameras.
So if you think we are not vulnerable targets for the syndicates, think again.
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CCTVS FOR LGUs. And, if the provincial board has not adopted an ordinance requiring all local government units in the province to install CCTV cameras in all major intersections in their areas, it’s time one is passed post-haste. Remember, the life and properties you might save through the CCTV may be yours.
In Dagupan City, the reminder of Councilor Joey Netu Tamayo to all business establishments to comply with the city’s ordinance is timely. But beyond the reminder, it would help if a team is organized to see to the compliance by the business establishments in the commercial districts with one caveat: the team should not endorse any supplier or product with a warning that administrative cases will be filed against those who dare to be enterprising!
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ENTERPRISING POSO ENFORCERS. This corner welcomes the unconfirmed report that Dagupan Mayor Belen Fernandez has decided to take over the reins of the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) to set the office in the right direction.
While she’s at it, she might as well look into why her earlier experiment on designated loading and unloading for jeepneys and buses to help decongest traffic, has failed. A number of POSO personnel have already been coopted in exchange for a daily “tong” not only to allow certain buses and jeepneys to make parts of A.B. Fernandez (check out the buses in front of the Maradel Bldg.) and Perez Boulevard as their terminals but also allow stores to keep their frontages as exclusive parking for the owners and their customers.
My informant says, a daily tong earns at least P400 a day for the enterprising POSO enforcers! One can only wonder how much is shared with their supervisors.
And here’s another concern, still some enterprising POSO personnel are also taking advantage of the ignorance of bikers on the no-helmet ordinance of the city. They attempt to apprehend bikers who wear helmets in the commercial district when the law specifically provides that “motorcycle drivers and their passengers are exempted from wearing helmet during parades and processions. They are likewise mandated to remove the same at authorized checkpoints by law enforcement agencies; provided that motor vehicle riders with speed limit below 15 kilometers per hour are likewise exempt from wearing helmets at the central business district.”
What should be done about these enterprising POSO enforcers, Mayor?
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CHALLENGES OF THE POPE. Now that “Lolo Kiko” is no longer seen nor heard, many seem to sense that the “feel good” inspiration that most relished for the duration of his visit is beginning to wane. Almost like – It was good while it lasted!
Is it? Perhaps this is so because we expect others to reform instantly without making ourselves accountable to the challenges of Pope Francis as well. Or, perhaps because we expect others to take the initiative before we do. Or perhaps because we chose to feel not alluded to since we are unknown entities in the country, that the challenges are intended only for our leaders and the rich and powerful.
What I am afraid of is that most of us sorely missed what Lolo Kiko’s messages were all about after lining up the streets to see him in person, or after joining the mass celebrated by him at the Luneta, or after being glued for hours on the TV screens to watch his every move.
If one felt it was a race to get his blessing for a chance to experience a miracle in one’s life, then indeed, the feeling of “it was good while it lasted” was exactly that.
But if one felt Pope Francis was talking directly to him/her when he spoke of challenges, then there is hope not only for his/her family but for their communities as well. Imagine the impact on a community if there is at least one in the family that will be outspoken in rejecting corruption or actively participating in a mission to help the poor and the less privileged.
Why ponder over things that are good while they last when we can make good things last in the littlest way? This is where I believe the change for the better starts – it starts with us, NOT them!
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WORKING FOR STREET CHILDREN. Last week, I chanced upon an old classmate in Makati and after the usual kumustahan, it didn’t take long before he got around to talking animatedly about Pope Francis.
He talked unabashedly about the guilt he felt for spending most of his time earning millions all his life and had little time for charity. He said after watching and listening to the Pope on TV on several occasions, he realized he had not done anything truly meaningful in his life and is now raring to make amends.
I asked him about what he had in mind. He said he will take a trip to his hometown down south, talk to the parish priest and see how he can support his charitable causes in the community. Since he never spent time in the province, he asked me for some ideas I might have how he can best help.
I asked him if he remembered Glyzelle Iris Palomar, 12-year-old girl who asked the Pope why God allowed children to suffer? He said he did, and we admitted to each other how we choked on witnessing the scene. I suggested to him to take her lead, to go where the downtrodden children are, to go to where organizations whose mission is to protect and provide shelter to street children. They need all the help to be able to reach out to as many children left by their parents to fend for themselves.
Then he asked me what the church is doing about it. I wish I knew what the dioceses are doing but I didn’t so I suggested that he checks out the information in his hometown.
Come to think of it, what are our three dioceses in Pangasinan doing for our street children?
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