Providing security

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Chief Superintendent Ireno Bacolod, head of the Civil Security Group in-charge of the country's security guards and agencies, believes that the security guards of Greenbelt 5 should have helped the two policemen who fought it out with armed men who robbed a watch store inside the upscale mall. In response to the flak from the police, the owner of the security agency, a former Director General of the PNP, defended his men, saying that the guards prioritized the safety of the shoppers who could have been caught in the crossfire.

Because the notorious Alvin Flores Gang that is suspected to be behind numerous high profile robberies continues to roam free despite their best efforts, police officials probably feel the need to assure the public that they are doing their job by looking busy. And since they cannot stop Alvin Flores and his gang, the police have turned their attention to the only people they can easily get their hands on: the security agency. The Security Agencies and Guards Supervision Division is now studying possible administrative sanctions against the security guards detailed to the mall during the robbery.

Any investigation that will pinpoint the lapses that were committed by the security guards on duty that could have allowed the robbers to enter and exit the mall as easily as they did would certainly be welcome, especially if it helps prevent similar mistakes from being committed again. However, the police should also remember that they, and not the poorly trained and equipped security guards, are the first line of defense against criminality and if daring crimes like the one attempted in Greenbelt 5 last Sunday are to be stopped, it is the police force and not security agencies that have to step up.

Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista asked this question: “How can security guards be expected to put their lives on the line if they get only minimum wages and are armed with old shotguns and rusty revolvers?”

The answer is that if the police were only doing their job right, they wouldn't have to.*