Quite a week

It's been quite an eventful week. Alchie Paray, a security guard at Virra Mall, Greenhills, was at the center of a hostage situation last Monday. The disgruntled guard and his resentment of the officials of the agency where he works pushed him to do the unthinkable. He cited the corruption in management where everyone just seems to accept. There are also favored tenants. So when he felt he was being singled out, the hostage-taking ensued. He shot a co-worker who fortunately didn't die. But his fate was sealed. Frustrated murder in addition to illegal detention are the charges he will have to face.

He supposedly refused the offer of P1 million for him to release the captives. All he wanted was for his gripes to be publically heard and the resignation of the company officials, both of which were granted before he was tackled by police officers. He did have a grenade in his possession. Now that the situation is over, what could possibly be the aftermath of Paray's actions? For sure, corruption and abuse occur in many workplaces. It's not exclusive to government. Are companies now put on notice regarding corruption and abuse? A wakeup call for reform? I hope so. Still, no one has the right to put another person's life in danger because of an agenda, whatever it is.

On Wednesday morning, news broke out that Kim Chiu's vehicle was shot in Katipunan Avenue. The actress was heading to work around 6:30 a.m. when she suddenly felt the need to lie down in her van. It was at this moment when two motorcycle-riding gunmen, of course, shot at the van. Based on the location of the hits, the passenger was indeed the target of the gunmen who fled towards the Old Balara area. Kim, her personal assistant, and driver were fortunately unhurt. An investigation is ongoing but the current theory is that this was a case of mistaken identity. Kim Chiu claims to have no enemies. Once again this shows just how easy it is for motorcycle-riding gunmen to carry out their crimes. All cities should adopt the "no riding-in-tandem" policy to deter these killings. Even checkpoints set up by the PNP may not be enough to deter these very mobile assassins.

On Thursday morning, a PNP helicopter carrying PNP Chief Gen. Archie Gamboa and several other generals and staff crashed after taking off from what is apparently a private lot with high-tension wires around. An initial investigation states the helicopter hit a wire causing it to crash. Gamboa sustained minor injuries and is in "good" condition. Two other generals are unconscious and in "critical" condition. The rest sustained minor injuries. Former PNP chief and incumbent senator Dela Rosa claimed the particular chopper to be brand new, purchased under his watch. But that would be inconsequential if the chopper indeed caught on a wire while taking off. Apparently, a repeated warning by the village chief for the PNP not to land there was ignored. The dust created by the chopper's rotors as it was taking off caused poor visibility. This may be the reason the pilot did not see the wires. Since he survived the crash, perhaps he can shed light on the investigation.

Quite a week. Just like how January was quite a month.