KILLINGS IN PANGASINAN: Officials have not done their best yet – Bataoil

Policemen accost suspected hitmen

Bataoil’s Media Fellowship: Media men in Pangasinan were all smile as they posed for posterity with 2^nd District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil ((3^rd from Left, front row) who called recently for the get together at the President’s Hotel in Lingayen town. Grateful media practitioners said that among the six congressmen in the mammoth province it was only Bataoil who thought of spearheading a media fellowship.

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

 LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - A congressman said that the powers-that-be have not done yet the best to negate the spate of unabated killings in Pangasinan.
Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil (2nd District, Pangasinan) explained in a media fellowship he called here that to discourage the surge of criminality in the humongous 28 cities and towns strong- province the community should look at the three elements of the crime. Bataoil, a retired two-star police general, cited them as motive, opportunity, and instrument.
 On "motive" he posed “Bakit ang tao ay gagawin ang isang illegal na hindi maka Dios ,at sa matinding galit?” On "opportunity", he expounded that the situation in the area where the criminal mind felt he would be successful to perpetrate his evil acts. He said "instrument" is gun, bladed weapon, poison, hard object, or whatever thing that could be used for the commission of the crime.
“What is the formula to prevent crime? If you talk of motive, dapat i-reform na kaagad. Kung itong neighbor na ito, may land conflict – i-resolve na natin,” he stressed.
 Bataoil, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, explained that to stall  “opportunity” is police visibility, check points, raids and searches of suspected safe houses of criminals. “Kahit na gutom na gutom (pero) secured ang area kagustuhan niyang tirahin kung ikaw ay may security forces at wala ang pagkaka-taon na (iyon) hindi niya maisasagawa,”he explained in the vernacular.
While negation of “instrument” is strict licensing of firearms, and confiscation of loose firearms.
Just like the song from pop singer James Ingram who belted “Just Once”, Bataoil paraphrased “Our best is not yet enough!” when asked by this paper that despite all the implementation of all those formulas by the police in the province crime statistics still rise .