One step ahead

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Dumaguete, touted as the City of Gentle People and a university town, has been plagued of late by what may be tagged as the most daring heist ever recorded in the crime history of the city.

The brazen burglary on a local pawnshop, right in the commercial district only last Tuesday, was not exactly the first among the series of reported petty and big-time assaults on properties in Dumaguete. However, what made it the talk of the town was the manner in which the burglary was pulled off. The burglars, in the process of collecting the loot and valuables in the pawnshop, managed to get in and leave totally unnoticed because of their access through the sewage right underneath the premises.

If that was an entirely unexpected manner of entrance and exit from a business establishment, some people can only add that modern-day burglars have also become more creative and imaginative, if not smarter and more brilliant. Even the security guard who heard the alarm, was perplexed because of the lack of any activity in the building with its the roll-up doors still tightly shut.

While other people may dismiss this as an isolated case, Dumagueteños are a-buzz because their city, for all its laid-back lifestyle and rustic ambience despite its steady growth, is a place where such a criminal act, was quite unthinkable.

We expect our law enforcers to be more pro-active in ensuring peace and order for its residents. If we just continue to be amazed at the ingenuity of these criminals, we dread what they may be capable of doing next time while our authorities just say they are “facing a blank wall.” Shouldn’t they be smarter than the culprits? Shouldn’t the police be, at least, one step ahead of lawless elements?

If such is the price of development and urbanization, then, the city and the police should widen their surveillance to include not only what that they can readily see, but must also anticipate what may happen any time.*