Rising gun violence, criminality surge worries Aquino

President Benigno Aquino III. AP

MANILA, Philippines – The sudden  surge of criminality in the country following what President Benigno Aquino III described as a string “of violence and recklessness when it comes to the use of firearms” since New Year has him worried about the peace and order situation in an election year.

Aquino has reiterated his standing order for Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas, Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima and other heads of law enforcement agencies to intensify efforts against lawless elements on the eve of a crucial midterm polls which, he said, will be a referendum on his leadership.

“While it is important for all to acknowledge that great strides have been made in suppressing criminality in our country, I will also be the first to admit that much work remains to be done,” said the President.

He said this at the 20th anniversary of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) in Intramuros, Manila, attended by Roxas, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Palace spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, Purisima, Senator Panfilo Lacson, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and anti-kidnapping crusader Teresita Ang-See.

Aquino reported a 10-percent decrease in crime volume for the entire country from 2011 to 2012, but he wanted the full force of government to go after so-called private armies, guns for hire groups, drug and gambling syndicates, and holders of loose firearms.

“For instance, despite the decrease in overall crime incidence, crime volume in Metro Manila has increased from 2011 to 2012. Likewise, recent events – instances of violence and recklessness when it comes to the use of firearms – push the government to work even harder when it comes to keeping our cities and barangays free from crime,” he said.

Since the start of 2013, the law enforcement agencies’ hands are full with deadly cases – from the 7-year-old girl felled by indiscriminate gunfire during the New Year’s revelry in Caloocan City to the shooting rampage in Cavite City that killed 8 people.

Before any of these incidents could be solved – and appropriate cases filed in court –

yet another shooting by a group of policemen and military soldiers claimed the lives of 13 people, including a suspected operator of numbers racket, “jueteng,” in Atimonan, Quezon.

Before the arrival of the President, Secretaries Roxas and De Lima, Lacson, MRPO officials and two media practitioners signed a covenant on “government-citizenry commitment to combat criminality.”

Ang-See is the founding chair of MRPO, a civilian anticrime group composed mainly of Chinese-Filipino businessmen who have been battling kidnap for ransom groups for two decades now.

Also present at the daylong convention were Architect Ka Kuen Chua, the MRPO chairperson, Chinese Consul General Shen Zi Cheng, Commissioner Kim Henares and Washington Sycip, among others.

Amid the public attention generated by the “Atimonan 13” incident on January 6 in which three policemen and three soldiers were killed at a police-military checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon, the President seemed to allay the public’s fear of the proliferation of hooligans in the uniformed services.

“We in the national government are on your side. Today, as both government and the private sector reaffirm their pact to combat criminality, you can be assured that we will continue to engage the Filipino people in the search for true and carefully thought out solutions–that we share your commitment to foster greater peace and order in the Philippines and to achieve justice for all,” he said in his keynote speech, adding:

“You trusted government to do right by you, we in government pledge to be worthy of your trust.”