Life for a car sticker

For lack  of a car sticker, a female resident of  Grand Pacific Villa Subdivion in Lapu-Lapu City was killed by a staff member following a heated argument.

The incident cast questions on just how far private villages  will go toward enforcing security within the premises.

Randy Emborong, a subdivision employee,  was tagged as the one who fired a shotgun at  Rose Ann dela Paz. The two exchanged heated words, when her car wasn’t allowed to enter the subdivision gate. She had been reminded several times before to get a homeowner’s sticker.

Police said Emborong flared up, grabbed the shotgun of security guard Rodulfo Cavalida, who was at the guard post, and fired at her chest.

Why Cavalida failed to mediate, or at least prevented a tragedy, is something the police and the agency that hired him will have to look into.

Emborong and the guard  remain in hiding. They won’t likely surface unless the Cebu police tracks them down and arrests them on a charge of  murder. 

Emborong was reportedly spotted in Iligan City but may skip off once he learns  the police are on his trail.

The victim’s British husband said the couple was  too busy in recent days to get a  car sticker required by the subdivision.

The car sticker is intended to easily identify neighborhood vehicles.  In this case, there was no problem of recognizing the woman as a homeowner.  The flare-up was reportedly worsened by hostile words flung back and forth as the subdivision employee, who is now on the run, had tangled before with the woman about the car sticker requirement.

No matter what the verbal provocation, it’s not a reason to lay a hand on a resident, especially an unarmed woman, more so shoot a homeowner.

With witnesses available, Emborong will be hard-pressed to justify his action short of claiming the woman tried to kill him. There  is no evidence that she did.

Even if Dela Paz was screaming at the top of her lungs and scalding him with words,  Emborong could have had the security guard calm the situation with his presence.  Then there would have been pause to think:  Is it worth resorting to violence to silence this woman?

Busy subdivision residents like Dela Paz  overlook administrative requirements  like securing a   car sticker all the time.  It’s up to the management of the subdivision to find  better ways of seeking compliance and its obligation to hire employees with more self-control.

Security agencies also have a responsibility to select guards who can defuse a nightmarish encounter like this without having someone  pull  the trigger.