Protection of the people from physical harm is paramount among the responsibilities of the state over its constituency. The government may fail to provide opportunities for the people to have enough food, clothing and shelter but it cannot afford to fail to protect its people. If it is unable to give that mantle of security it is an abject failure and has no reason to exist.

That in a nutshell is the simple but compelling reason why law enforcement agencies here in Camarines Sur, especially in Naga City and neighboring towns, must start to wake up and be on their toes. the increasing occurrences of robbery and holdup cases perpetrated in broad daylight sometimes with bystanders helplessly watching underscore the utter lack of respect of criminal elements for law enforcers and these include the PNP, NBI, CIDG and so on and so forth. Why have these criminals become so bold? There is only one indisputable conclusion: the law enforcers are ineffective.

And why not indeed would these criminals be not laughing behind the backs of supposed lawmen. Take this one eye-opener: PNP Provincial Command admitted it had apprehended one holdupper who victimized an Indian national and who readily admitted he committed the crime while confessing he was an army soldier on AWOL. Only because the Indian national seemed terrified to file and sustain a complaint against the soldier who he thought could bring him more trouble PNP just released the bandit despite his brazen admission.

With this kind of law enforcers, our people, businessmen especially, can never live in peace. It is either that law enforcers prove their worth now or be elsewhere, limbo, probably where they can prolong their slumber unperturbed.