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I AM
really at a loss as to why big business establishments
in the city switch off all lights in their respective
vicinities at night.
Government officials should tell those companies not to
switch off all the lights in their areas at night. We
know that they, too, want to keep their electrical
consumption down but they must also share in the
responsibility of protecting the people who patronize
their establishments.
City
governments, which often pay for the streetlights in
their localities, reduce their electrical expenditures
by turning them off at around 10 in the evening. They
have the responsibility of making those streets safe at
night, but are streets that are covered in darkness
really secured when nobody guards or patrols them?
Take the
case of the SM Megamall on Edsa and that of the San
Miguel Corp. head office in Ortigas, which my family and
I passed during one night late last week. When our car
squeezed through single-lane traffic along the dimly lit
Vargas Street before turning right into a very dark
San Miguel Avenue,
we saw that people emerging from the SM Megamall during
closing hours and employees leaving their offices could
barely see the sidewalks because all the lights in the
vicinity were already out.
With the
advent of modern lighting technology, illuminating the
streets won’t cost those big business establishments
much.
‘FENCES”
or people who buy stolen goods, especially automotive
accessories, must be shown the full force of the law
when they are caught.
This is
to stop the rampant stealing of auto parts in the
metropolis which has been going on for several years
now. The authorities seem to be helpless in curbing this
malady, which is treated as a petty crime.
That
should not be the case since the theft of auto parts
such as side mirrors, wheel caps, plates and other
exterior paraphernalia that are meant to make a car
beautiful is now becoming a “cottage industry” among
criminals who even utilize kids as lookouts in their
shady operations.
Those
criminals have managed to teach youngsters the fine
rudiments of stealing side mirrors in just a few
seconds. How many times have we heard about parked cars
whose side mirrors were stolen by a youngster with one
snap of a screwdriver?
But
where are they being sold? Don’t tell us you still don’t
know the answer! Two of the biggest markets are located
in Banaue in Quezon City and Evangelista in Pasay City.
Drop by
those places one of these days and you will see various
kinds of stolen auto parts being peddled openly on the
side streets. You can even haggle on the price and get a
replacement for your old ones in just a few minutes.
That’s
how bold and daring those thieves have become. Why? It’s
because the authorities are treating them with kid
gloves and nobody has been caught and thrown in jail for
a long time. Nobody even touches those “fences” who
finance the operations of those shady characters.
That’s
why for as long as those “fences” are around, the
stealing of exterior auto parts will continue unabated.
I am one
who agrees that barangay elections should push through
this year.
This is
to replace those aging and “blinded” officials who have
already lost their usefulness in their respective
barangays. Small potholes and simple traffic problems,
which are the responsibilities of barangays, are often
neglected by those who have been in their posts for the
past several years.
Replacing those “greedy and irresponsible” officials
with younger and more conscientious ones is the
solution. And holding barangay elections is the way to
do this. So, participate responsibly and do your share
in cleansing your barangay of misfits. |
