The False Peace of the Heart

Have you heard? You have probably come across the news on social media over the weekend. This latest case of a female teacher found dead in her home is the recent cause of shock in our community.

This reminds me of an incident last year in which the bodies of two sisters were discovered in separate locations across Naga City. Both were found with severe hack wounds to their necks and arms, in neighboring barangays. A few months before this, a male college student was stabbed in the chest in Barangay Triangulo. Months before that, an OB-GYN doctor was found shot dead inside her car near the BIR office outside Bicol Medical Center.

That’s three violent cases and four victims in a single year.

Our blood pressure had a brief break from shock in 2024. In 2023, remember the young girl who was found dead in a vacant lot in Barangay Liboton after days of being missing? That was all over Facebook Live on a Saturday afternoon. A year before that, a female student’s body was found in Pili with evidence of sexual assault. It turned out the crime happened right in the middle of the torrents of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng.

I remember a time around the pandemic when we received a warning not to go to school because a gunman pursued by the police had gone into hiding somewhere on campus.

Around these stand-out incidents were drunken brawls, stabbings, and drug-related and gang disputes in barangays where I would not walk at night when I was a teenager. It’s interesting how places don’t change. I’m sure there had been cases as violent as these recent ones before 2022 and further back.

If someone asks me about the crime rate in my city, I would probably tell them that it’s a relatively peaceful place. I can walk safely around downtown and the adjacent barangay streets. I just have to keep off certain streets before it gets dark. In some streets where I could confidently walk at daytime, I would take a tricycle or book a Grab at night. If I have to go home late at night, I know specific spots to get a tricycle ride. If a group of males are drinking along the road outside a random house or a sari-sari store, I would think of another route to avoid passing by them.

If a female friend has to go home late at night, I or with some other friends would take extra precautionary measures to make sure she gets home safe. Maybe, we’ll rent a tricycle that would cost a couple of hundreds. Maybe, we’ll walk with her right to her door. Then, our group of friends would walk back to the well-lit streets together.

Okay, maybe this isn’t a very peaceful city after all. Otherwise, I who grew up here would not be taking those precautionary measures every single day.

Now, that got me thinking. Where are the barangay tanods? Do they really roam around the streets on shifts through the night? I hope they don’t just spend the hours at the barangay hall sipping coffee donated by residents. I hope they don’t avoid doing rounds on dark streets.

In this day and age of artificial intelligence and solar-powered devices, why are there still streets that go completely dark when the sun completely sets? Shouldn’t all streets be well-lit by now? Shouldn’t the barangay leaders and the city and municipal governments have taken care of all the streets by now? Shouldn’t the provincial government and the congressional district representatives have given aid to have all streets lined with lights by now?

If an intruder breaks in and enters our home, how do I call the cops? Do I call 911? I asked Gemini and it said, “Yes, you can dial 911 in Naga City. Dialing 911 connects you to the National Emergency Hotline, which routes the call to local emergency responders.” But on the next paragraph, it says, “However, for the fastest response in Naga City, it is often recommended to call the Naga City Central Communications Center directly or use local emergency hotlines.” Then, it lists a series of landline phone numbers, and Smart and Globe cellphone numbers which you need to keep handy on some card if you need to call, or would take time dialing in emergency situations.

Even AI suggests that the 911 service is relatively slow and suggests something faster. I heard of Naga residents who called 911 after a motorcycle accident and did not get any answer from the other end of the line. Maybe that was an isolated incident.

We need to work on these.

Proverbs 4:6

“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.”