Vigilance

Vigilant citizenry is essential for a progressive community or nation.

We were called to be vigilant and to protect our votes against fraud during the May 14 polls. Nonetheless, we are exhorted to be watchful of suspicious individuals who dwell and visit our communities and to report them to proper authorities, especially that the threats of terrorism threaten our peace today.

Our vigilance does not end there. It extends to our duties of obeying laws like the simple observance in disposing household's refuse and proper use of pedestrian crossing and overpass when we cross the street. And the list goes on.

Police Regional Director Silverino Alarcio reported a dropped in crime figures for the period of January through May of this year, caused maybe by the deployment of extra police teams for the ASEAN Summit and, of course, the undying support of vigilant communities. Index crimes like robbery is downed by 29 percent in Cebu City, 31 percent in the province and 31 percent in Mandaue City compared to the last year's. (Sunstar, 10 June 2007)

Statistically speaking the situation has improved for the same period since 2005. However, there is no reason to celebrate and be complacent. The threats of robbers, murderers, thieves, terrorists, etc remain in our midst waiting to strike, without warning, another unwilling victim(s), shattering our peace. Besides, the numbers only showed the reported crimes. Few, if not many, reports had never even been penned in the crime logbook or the so called police blotter. Many victims chose to keep their silence.

Late evening of May 17, my younger sister, on her way home from overtime work, was robbed at gunpoint by an unidentified man, who wore a black jacket and baseball cap, near the corner of St. Jude Street and M.J. Cuenco Avenue in Mabolo. The hoodlum immediately boarded a passing passenger jeep taking with him my sis' wallet, cellphone, ATM cards, company ID and some cash.

I visited my sister the following morning to inquire if she had reported the incident to the authority. She didn't and reasoned me out that it was just some of an isolated case because the place has been relatively peaceful since she had rented last year a boarding house nearby. I learned, however, that her fellow tenant was a victim of such, a week before. This alarmed and concerned me.

Two days later, my fiancée and I went for groceries and spotted a police precinct on our way back. Knowing that it has jurisdiction of the said cases, I urged her that it's opportune for us to inform the authority.

At the precinct, an officer, who is not in uniform, approached me. He tinkered my grocery bag and tried to get hold of it. He, perhaps, thought that it was my gift for them. So I smiled and told him my business.

I was, then, referred to another officer, who is in complete uniform. I relayed to him the incident but I was told to bring my sister instead. I tried to talked him to heed my side but I was cut-off in mid-sentence for similar reason that victim should personally file the complaint or blotter.

Shaking my head in utter disappointment, I went out the precinct forgetting to get the officer's name. Anyway, I didn't plan to tell his superior. My fiancée could not believe what she just witnessed. We were just acting as good citizens of the country.

The officers' actuations would sometimes leave people to think that it's intentional not to heed such complaints for any reported crime unresolved under their jurisdiction is a demerit to their rank's or unit's performance. We hope that this is never a practice.

I conferred with my best friend, who is a police officer in Caraga Region, if police blotter should only be personally filed by the victim? He said, “ Any person who has knowledge of the event can do so.”

We opted to file the report not to pressure them to hunt the culprit and retrieve my sis' belongings because, after all, it's been 48-hour since the incident and any action from them would only be futile. We did it with the sincere hope of providing our security force relevant information which they can use for their future crime prevention efforts that they may undertake. We took our chance so that similar events will be marred from reoccurring and to give employees who lives there, especially during paydays, the freedom from fear of being robbed while passing on said location.

This is, however, not to condemn the whole police force for, like many of us, we sometimes need to be reminded of our onus and duties so that we can perform better. Nor this is to dishearten people.

Let this be a challenge for us to be trustful yet vigilant of our authorities so they can deliver genuine public services. Let us be watchful and be concerned about our securities. Let's make reporting any crime and anomaly in our community to concerned agencies a habit and our little contribution for the prevention of crimes so our communities will be safer.

an answer to my previous doubt

My question of what will happen next after the finding of 15 spurious Election Returns (ERs) of Bogo has already been answered. This is somewhat different to what is usually being done in other election "hot spots" in the country.

After the winner has been identified, proclaimed and sworn to office, the issue of cheating is left in the trash bin. Nobody cares about finding who are the cheats. A very apparent reason why the issue of cheating continue to flourish in every election because nobody is held accountable and being punished.

Cebu depicts a different picture since civic-religious organization and the would-have-been victim congressman vowed to sue the responsible individuals including, of course, the personnel or officials of Comelec, as reported by the local news (sunstar-cebu).

We wish that similar efforts are also done in other places.

What's Next?

Distrust on the Commission on Election (Comelec) has ensued brought by issues of massive electoral fraud and the "Hello Garci" Scandal that beset the 2004 National Election.

Election experts considered the 2007 May Polls as evaluation of Comelec's credibility to perform its constitutional mandate.

The exercise went orderly last May, except the contest between Migz Zubiri of Team Unity and Koko Pimentel of Genuine Opposition for Senate's 12th seat and the race for Congress between Salimbangon and Martinez in the 4th district of Cebu, which rather turned out to be legally bloody.

Comelec, convinced that the questioned 15 Bogo electoral returns (ERs) are "spurious and manufactured", will soon proclaim the 4th district representative.

The question of 'who won in last election' is settled. Supporters of both camps would soon mellow. Media coverage would falter, too.

The matter of 'who is (are) responsible' for the 15 phony ERs, however, remains unresolved. It is the most important side of the issue that people often forgets to examine and, therefore, deserves the scrutiny of the public, media, church and commissioners.

Will somebody be implicated? An election official(s) sanctioned and dismissed? A supporter, relative, etc. from any camps held accountable?

Let us see what the commission will do. Or this could be another vital issue, which can rekindle people trust on the electoral body, left to simmer down, with the proclamation of the winner, and to die its natural death.

Fiestas of Camagong

It is envelope in Filipino Culture, being the only Catholic Nation in Southeast Asia, the annual celebration of fiesta in any barrio across the country; north to south and west to east.

I was raised in a farm-barrio of Camagong in the Municipality of Tago. It is nestled in the central part of Surigao del Sur. The barrio residents being mostly Roman Catholics celebrate as many as five (5) patronal fiestas every year.

These celebrations were part of every Camagong native's life. I sometimes wondered why such a lot of fiestas celebrated in one barrio? What I understood then was a barrio had only to celebrate one (1) fiesta a year except those fiestas celebrated by other religious sect like that of Pedong's Fiesta in Brgy. Sumo-sumo in southern part of Tago. The one in Camagong are all Roman Catholic Patron Saints Fiestas.

I tend to rationalize that, perhaps, the lumads of Camagong were financially well-off during Decada '60s to Decada '80s. I also learned from my "Apohan" that farmers and residents of other barrios and the town of San Miguel passed through the barrio on speed boats, manually operated barotos (bancas) and bamboo rafts fashioned with a temporary tent for shelter on their way to the Poblacion to market their harvest and buy essential provisions for their life in the farm.

Brgy Camagong is composed of many sitios namely Kapilihan, Kinabhangan (Upper Puro), Puro Ubos (Lower Puro), Camagong Taas (Upper Camagong), Camagong Ubos (Lower Camagong) and Pagi-pagi. All of these sitios celebrate its own Patronal Fiesta.

Kinabhangan's fiesta is scheduled every May 17; Camagong Taas on June 30; Puro Ubos on June 24; Camagong Ubos on September 10 but was adjusted to September 11, a day after the Patronal Feast of San Nicolas in Tandag City; and Pagi-pagi is on every June 24, the Feast of St. John the Baptist.

In the late '90s to the early 2000, Pagi-pagi, Kapilihan and Camagong Taas faltered to celebrate these fiestas for many of the then residents have migrated to the Poblacion. It is only this year that lumads and grand children, so to speak, of this beloved barrio, brought back the celebration even many of them don't have houses anymore there.

Temporary shanties were made just for the occasion. Camps and tents, lined on the barangay road, housed the fiesta's guests.

I hope that this tradition of celebration will continue even many of the natives of this barrio have found home in other progressive place. Let us not be oblivious that our has many fiestas than others and its record of most fiestas celebrated in one barangay was only beaten today by the Poblacion.

The Poblacion today celebrates as many fiestas as its member purok through the new mandate implemented by the Parish Priests of Tago.