Cebu City’s Increasing Theft Rate
Photograph from: http://lowcards.com
Last October 29, 2015, I was strolling around Elizabeth Mall when I noticed that the front pocket of my bag was open. I shrugged it off and looked for my phone because I wanted to use it. I tried finding it but I couldn’t. I searched my whole bag and even went up, down, and around the establishment but no sign of my cell phone. In the end, I lost hope because even the customer service and housekeeping crew couldn’t help me. A friend of mine, Claire Ayuban, also experienced the same thing while we were walking around Colon. A woman randomly bumped her. After some time, she noticed that the little change of money that she had inside the front pocket of her bag was gone. She deduced that it was the lady’s doing. Luckily, her cell phone and wallet were safely tucked in a compartment.
“Mango Avenue” Photograph from: http://ryugakuonline.com/
Theft is becoming an everyday occurrence in Cebu City. It happens almost everywhere; malls, markets, schools, and even jeepneys. According to numbeo.com, the level of crime in Cebu is 55.21% and the crime increase in the past 3 years is at 60.20% which is considered high. A report from the Cebu Provincial Police Office last March 6, 2015 also says that there is a 13% increase in the crime volume during the first two months of 2015. The most common cases happen in Mango square. Mango is a street avenue in Cebu that is popular for its many restaurants, bars, clubs, and other places of entertainment especially at night time. Foreigners usually flock around this area and that’s where the thefts usually happen. The thieves trick its victims, using various techniques to distract them. An anonymous police officer said that the most common suspects are minors. These minors devise different strategies to distract foreigners around Mango and steal from them. Other places where thieves usually lurk are Brgy. Kamputhaw and Colon. Usually, they take cell phones, wallets, and money. But other times, they take whatever they can get like a company ID worth 2,300 pesos stolen in Sambag 2 and a demolition hammer worth 27,000 pesos taken in Sta. Cruz. These incidents usually happen at night, where the area is crowded and people will not easily notice because it’s dark. What is alarming about these cases is that most of the suspects are unknown. The only thing the victims can do is send a blotter report to the police.
As stated in Article 308-311, Chapter Three of the Revised Penal Code, “Theft is committed by any person who, with intent to gain but without violence against or intimidation of persons nor force upon things, shall take personal property of another without the latter’s consent.” Theft can be committed by 1) failing to return a lost item to its original owner, 2) gaining something after damaging the property of another, and lastly, 3) by entering a closed site where trespassing is prohibited. Penalty is from 6 months to 4 years if the stolen property is more than 200 pesos and not exceeding 6,000 pesos. The penalty will be higher if the thief is a domestic helper. More so, if the property stolen exceeds 6,000 pesos, the penalty may reach up to 19 years and 11 months (but not exceeding 20 years).
That being said, theft is becoming a widespread problem in Cebu. There are three possible causes of theft. First is poverty. The lack of food and supplies push these people to steal so they can eat or provide their families with food. Some of them might’ve given up of begging for alms on the street so they resort to stealing from other people. A man with a growling stomach would do anything to satisfy their hunger, even if it means resorting to illegal measures. On November 26, 2015, Karla Mendoza was about to cross the street when a man suddenly grabbed the plastic cellophane she was holding which contained her breakfast. “I was about to let go of the plastic bag thinking that this man needs this food much more than I do when he suddenly fled the scene because the drivers along JY Square Mall was starting to notice and were shouting at him,” says Mendoza. Some thieves not only steal food, but also valuable gadgets and items. Most of them sell these things so they can gain money. This is a violation of the Anti-Fencing Law, which prohibits the buying and selling of stolen property.
“Barangay Ermita” Photograph from: http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/
Second, most of the people who steal are pressured by their peers or influenced by their environment. An example of this would be the people from Ermita which is a barangay in Carbon that is known to be dangerous because theft is often. I have visited this place during our NSTP immersion sessions and the place really shocked me. It was your typical squatters’ area, with a narrow road, houses too close to each other, the stench of garbage, and brimming with people indicating that it was overcrowded. We were told by the residents to keep our bags in front of us so as to avoid being stolen from. During the immersion, we discovered that drug addiction was a serious problem in the barangay. This, along with the unsustainable environment of the place must’ve lead to the rise of thefts especially when immersion sessions are held in the barangay. Look at Tarzan. He was a human being by default but because he lived with gorillas he thought that he was also one of them therefore he acted like one. The same thing also applies here. If your friends are using drugs and stealing from other people and you are not, most likely, with an environment like Barangay Ermita, you will also do the same. If not, you will be forced to do it because of peer and societal pressure. Most of these are minors because they are easily fooled because of their lack of knowledge and guidance. As they grow up, they will think that what they’re doing is correct even if it’s not because it is what they grew up with and they grew accustomed to it.
Third, for some people, stealing is their means of living. On September 19, 2015, a pickpocketing incident was reported. Eight minors were accused of stealing a cell phone from a man in Colon. The four kids were captured by Chief Inspector Jose Gesto of the Waterfront Police Station. Later, they found out that the minors were instructed by Marcelo Amahan to steal cellular phones from strangers and buying them after. Amahan violated the Anti-Fencing Law. (Secuya, 2015) Trisha Gubaton also lost her bag containing her cash and iPhone in a restaurant located in Leon Kilat Street. A four or five year old girl was seen taking the bag while a man guided her. A woman was also with them, acting as the lookout. (Jabil, 2015) This infers that there are criminal syndicates in Cebu. This is also a much bigger case because these people use underage children to do their dirty work. These kids, if not properly guided, will think that what they’re doing is right because it is what they grew up with.
With the alarming rate of theft in the city, steps must be taken to deter it. Firstly, is to prevent the crime from happening. This can occur by heightening the police visibility in the streets where criminals can think twice before doing something that can lead them to imprisonment. “Pag may police dun sa kalsada, wala pa siyang ginagawa, nakatindig pa lang, obviously crime will not happen, paano pa kaya kung meron pa siyang gagawin at nakikipag-usap sa mga tawo (If the police are on the streets, though he is just standing there, obviously crime will not happen, how much more if we do something and engage people in a conversation),” said Director General Ricardo Marquez, PNP chief, last July 17, 2015 during the planning of contingency management in APEC meetings in Cebu. Marquez also says that by patrolling the streets, the police will be able to establish a connection with the people, making them feel more secured and building their trust. (Ta-as, 2015) The effectiveness of this is seen in the APEC meetings that happened in Cebu last August. “Total crime volume in Central Visayas went down three percent since July, with theft and rape cases decreasing by 14 percent,” said Police Regional Office (PRO-7) chief of staff Col. Rey Lyndon Lawas. (Cabahug, Semilla, & Silva, 2015) Secondly, the police conducts Libot-Suroy programs to round up the minors along Mango Square but because they are under aged, the police cannot detain them therefore they let the DSWS (Department of Social Welfare Services) take charge. But the DSWS also cannot accommodate all of the minors because they do not have the enough places to house them. What happens is these kids go back to the streets and into their delinquent living. Thirdly, the NSTP programs can greatly help those in the communities like Ermita. Our project proposal is to provide the youth with productive seminars like soap-making, basic computer education and the like so they can improve their state of living and be productive.
One must understand the root of the problem first before solving it. It is important that we must analyze the causes of the problem such as individuals who lacked guidance during their childhood years and the factors that influenced them to commit such crimes. We must also reflect on the effects of these events because the repeated actions of some can cause extreme nuisances to the whole city. There is a solution to every problem and theft is not an exception. If we work together to apply the aforementioned steps, then we can live freely without worrying about strolling around the Queen City of the South.
2010, March C3: Theft Art. 308-311. Retrieved from https://criminallawphilippines.wordpress.com
Braga, M.V. (2015, March 7) CPPO: Crime rate higher. The Freeman. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/Cabahug, M. et. Al. (2015, August 29) Crimes dip in Metro Cebu due to APEC police force. Cebu Daily News. Retrieved from http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net
Jabil, D. (2015, November 6) Man guides 4-year-old girl to steal bag in Cebu. Sunstar Cebu. Retrieved from http://sunstar.com.ph
Secuya, M.F. (2015, September 19) “Pickpocket” minors along Colon arrested. The Freeman. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com
Ta-as, A. (2015, July 19) New PNP chief wants more beat patrols in streets. Cebu Daily News. Retrieved from http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net
