Jail killers of law enforcers

Less than two weeks after the fatal shooting of Cebu City traffic enforcer Armando Daligdig, another law enforcer was shot dead past 2 a.m. last Saturday, July 8.

PO2 Gerlito Estremos of the Fuente Police Station was shot dead on P. Del Rosario Street by a gunman whom he believed had stolen his crash helmet.

In the two shootings, the perpetrators not only manifested criminal intent. They also showed a dismissive attitude towards the law.

The gunmen thumbed their noses at the law. Their arrogance and confidence that they are beyond justice’s reach is almost palpable.

Civilians can only shudder as they ask who, if any, is safe from the criminally minded if even the authorities are vulnerable to them.

Nevertheless, now is not the time to cower before men who are bereft of conscience.

The slaying of elements of the law must be taken as motivation for those who are left alive to be more meticulous in doing their jobs.

The deaths of Daligdig and Estremos will not be in vain if the authorities:

1. Double their efforts in conducting checkpoints in the official and unofficial gateways to Cebu to apprehend those who illegally possess firearms,

2. Prioritize smoking out of their lairs those who illegally manufacture guns,

3. Intensify nightly roving in areas where crimes, petty or otherwise occur with greater frequency and regularize such patrols in other areas, strengthening coordination with barangay tanods,

4. Do not let up on the inspection of those who travel up and down the metropolis by motorcycle, considering that these have become the favored accessory and getaway of cold-blooded gunmen and

5. Provide an enabling environment for those who witness crime, especially the shooting of Daligdig and Estremos to present their testimony in the court of law.

The families of two men have been robbed of breadwinners. Any assistance that the city can provide to the bereaved will be but a pittance though necessary.

The deaths of Daligdig and Estremos diminish us and are a slap on our reverence for the law. The jailing of those who killed them will avenge every citizen, too.