Volunteers against Crime and Corruption founding chair Dante Jimenez. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Alarmed at what he referred to as “rising criminality” in Quezon City and other parts of Metro Manila, the founding chairman of the watchdog group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) has urged Malacañang to let the military help the Philippine National Police maintain peace and order in the region.
Dante Jimenez said on Thursday, “the situation calls for the military to come in” as he also expressed dismay over the alleged failure of the PNP to do its job.
Noting “desperate times call for desperate measures,” he said the move would make perfect sense.
In a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jimenez also said that “clearly, additional manpower, especially skilled law enforcers, is needed to deal with the increasing number of criminal cases, including those considered heinous.”
“Kidnap-for-ransom, among other cases, is on the rise again in Metro Manila,” he warned.
In Quezon City alone, Jimenez pointed out, “an increasing number of both serious and minor crimes have been monitored by our group.”
“There’s never a day na walang patayan sa Quezon City (… that there’s no killing in Quezon City). Worse, most, if not all the killings have remained unsolved … No wonder, Quezon City has become the murder capital of the Philippines,” he observed.
According to Jimenez, “the peace and order situation during the current administration is getting worse.”
Heinous crimes, such as murder, rape and illegal drug trafficking, among others, “have increased by three times.”
“We have complained to the Palace about the reported increase in the number of heinous crimes and suggested ways to curb them,” he said.
Asked about the Office of the President’s reply, the VACC head said, “just noted, according to President Aquino’s spokesman.”
Jimenez furnished this paper a copy of his June 17 letter to President Benigno Aquino, where he called for the replacement of the “Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, PNP chief and erring police officials down the line for command responsibility.”
He also complained about the “slow prosecution of cases” by the courts, as well as the “very slow, if not non-promulgation of sentences.”
He suggested that the government “transfer the new Bilibid Prison from Muntinlupa City to an island with state-of-the-art facility for convicted felons with life sentence and enforce strict reform programs.”
He claimed that in the Bilibid Prison, there has been “special treatment for rich and influential detainees.”
His proposal could be compared to Alcatraz, the maximum high-security US federal prison on San Francisco Bay in California. The facility, which closed in 1963, gained notoriety because of the criminals sent there and the allegedly inhumane conditions they experienced.
“Lastly, revive the death penalty law for heinous crimes to send a strong signal to criminals and crime syndicates that the State will not tolerate them,” Jimenez also said in his letter.
RELATED STORY
VACC proposes PH version of Alcatraz island prison