A witness with a conscience

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor ERIC T. LORETIZO Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Despite the frequency of crime incidents involving cellphone snatching in Metro Manila, the recent one that cost the life of a young college student seemed to have roused both shock and indignation, not only among the ordinary citizens, but even among the police themselves.

The girl happened to be one of the passengers of an FX vehicle in Pasig City when three armed men, later identified to be hardened gang members, declared a hold-up and divested passengers of their valuables.

The girl was noted by the robbers to be concealing something and when they discovered it was a cellular phone, demanded that she hand it over to them. Reports later said that the girl pleaded with the gangmen not to get her phone which, apparently, was very important to her. Instead of listening to her, or even just forcing the item away, one of them just aimed his gun and fired at her head.

The van driver and other passengers rushed her to the Pasig General Hospital but she was declared dead on arrival. Her life had been exchanged for an object that was not even a high-priced one.

To the credit of the Pasig police, they were able to arrest one of the gangmen the day after. As expected, the man denied that he had been in the van, much less being the one who shot the girl.

This might been one of those tragic stories where a suspect is apprehended but gets away with his crime for lack of witnesses. This time, however, the van driver, a courageous and principled man, obviously, came out and identified the arrested person as the killer. It was a risky thing to do, because it was known that the killer belonged to an organized group, but the driver knew it was his duty to testify to the heartless killing of an innocent person for the most trivial of reasons.

We need more people with the conscience and sensitivity of this driver who, himself, could be victimized by the gang members. We hope the police and civic organizations in Pasig will do all they can to protect his identity and ensure that his own life is spared, and those who are guilty get the penalties they deserve.*