EDITORIAL - Another grim reminder that crime never stops

According to statistics presented by police, crime went down in Cebu City by as much as 67% after Enhanced Community Quarantine was imposed since March.

However, this did not seem to be the case the other day when a retired policeman, Police Officer 3 Brazillo Borinaga, 51, was shot dead by still-unidentified assailants.

Borinaga and his wife just arrived home in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City, from buying groceries when the assailants struck. His wife had gone ahead to their house when she suddenly heard gunshots. When she returned to their car she found her husband already dead after being shot several times in his body, including the head.

What makes this case even scarier is that it seems criminals are no longer afraid to target those who are supposed to pursue them.

Borinaga joins a list of policemen who were targeted and killed by unidentified men who have yet to be arrested. More than a year ago on May 21, 2019, Police Capt. Delfin Bontuyan was ambushed and shot dead by men riding tandem on a motorcycle along Pope John Paul II Avenue in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

Just last November 21, Police Lt. Col. Joie Yape Jr., former head of the Provincial Intelligence Branch, was also shot dead by men riding in tandem on a motorcycle in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City.

As mentioned, both cases remain unsolved.

It is unfortunate what happened to Borinaga. At the very least this incident should serve as a grim reminder to our lawmen that even as restrictions are in place because of the quarantine, some criminals are still active.

In fact, many of them might take advantage of the situation to pursue their nefarious professions; streets are practically devoid of traffic, making it easier for them to get away, especially those who favor motorcycles. Most of the people are also more concerned with the viral threat that they cannot see and how to make ends meet for their family, paying little heed to the criminal threat always surrounding them.

We hope for the speedy arrest of not just those who killed Borinaga, Bontuyan, and Yape, but all criminals in general. Crime actually ads to the miseries the people are already suffering during these times.