Security in Silang

Took this photo at the Silang Municipal Hall last Monday, Laguna Day and Jose Rizal's birthday.
This was about a minute after missing an opportunity to shoot(a photo with my phone)...a photo of the Mayor outside her office, chatting briefly with constituents right next to where I stood.  It would have been one of those candid shots a la Time, Newsweek or Life (if you remember that mag you are old like me).
I do not know her and did not seek an audience with her, I was there for a transaction. Since I am apolitical and do not have friends nor close relatives in politics, the brief encounter was interesting in iterms of the sensation I felt.  From the way an employee waved me aside saying "dadaan si Mayor" to the way those who wanted to talk to her hunched humbly before her (well she is tall so maybe I exaggerate)...it is evident that change in little towns from reverence of their leaders at near-royal status can be...well..tough. The fact is theirs, like many ruling families in many other municipalities, has led this town forever. 

I must say however, I left Silang City Hall satisfied that theirs struck me as a decent office. This as opposed to other unkempt city offices where the employees, in dress and manner just reek of...corruption. Yes even out on the streets of Silang town proper, cars--2 different cars at 2 different times that morning, stopped to yield to ours going through! It was surprising because the courtesy was obvious...they didn't have to yield but they did.  I don't know if it being Rizal's birthday had anything at all to do with it, but whatever...I salute whoever drove those two (both red) cars.

I would like to know if the building itself is the original munisipyo from the time of Rizal (when was it founded? Climbing its wooden steps feels warm &fuzzy like entering a bahay na bato of the past. Also, transacting with them was fairly pleasant; decent and legitimate.

That was Monday. Tuesday evening, a terrible thing happened in one of Silang's up and coming villages. Wednesday morning, I heard about it. Thieves had broken into a home and shot the father of the family,killing him. By Thursday one of four suspects was  caught. By Friday, the other three were arrested. Incredibly, by today, we hear news that the three shall soon be released "for lack of a warrant". Apparently the police report was also bungled, with inaccuracies initially.

So, mayor, mayor in the hall...is your city one of the fairest in the land at all? The frequency of such similar crimes is common knowledge now. Please! Fix it!!

Houses Robbed in the Area Again

These were taken last month, when the PNP, the Fire Department, Emergency and Rescue Services were stationed for about a week or maybe more at the intersection of the Sta. Rosa Tagaytay Road and Nuvali blvd.

They even set up white emergency tents behind these canopies.  Maybe they conducted demonstrations, I don't know.

It was a bit of a comfort back then, to know they existed "in the neighborhood".

Interestingly, on the same week of their presence, that road where you see cars coming from the south (Tagaytay), saw the same type of accident on different days.  Specifically, I saw on different days, cars at the front of the line, bumped from behind.  

My theory is that they were trying to beat the light, but made sudden stops upon seeing the many policemen and women under the tents, thus getting bumped from behind by the next cars.  Quite plausible, considering the mentality of most drivers here huh?

Seriously,  there have been numerous and varied vehicular accidents within this intersection and until a few meters away.  Many involved were motorcycles.

But my title talks about recent crimes, as in this week.  A new house in Santierra in Nuvali was robbed and the robbers shot at security guards.   The news as well as our own village's circular states nearby villages have had robbery incidents as well.  Again.