It’s not easy to be a security guard these days especially when working at a mall or a posh subdivision in Metro Manila.
A few days ago, SM North Edsa mall was robbed by the so-called “Martilyo” (Hammer) gang who bought hammers at a hardware store then proceeded to break open the glass display cases to scoop up jewelry and other valuables.
The robbery would have required a mayor’s attention, but lo and behold, President Benigno Aquino III and Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas arrived on the scene to make sure the police were doing their jobs.
The President’s appearance alone a busy mall may enough news to land in the front page, but what about Roxas, who announced the rather absurd proposal of banning the sale of hammers in a mall or requiring hammer purchases to be collected outside as a safety precaution.
Do malls in security-strict countries like the US and Europe have a provision like this?
If the robbery had happened in Cebu during the height of the donation campaign for construction materials for typhoon-hit areas in Cebu and Eastern Visayas, this would have tied up both buyers and mall owners in great inconvenience.
With peak crowds in the holiday season, the robbery wa still a big security lapse.
So what’s next, ban the sale kitchen knives in stores? Spoons and forks with sharp tines? You can only guess.
Considering that a burglar managed to live undetected for days in the ceiling of a Talisay city mall (remember “Spider-Man” ?), it’s not far-fetched to see how someone with great enterprise can rob a store blind even with all security cameras and guards present.
And even when security forces do their jobs, as in the case of the guards at Dasmariñas subdivision in Makati, sooner or later some haughty public official would throw his weight around, backed with his own security entourage, guns cocked and ready.
The mall robbery and the Dasmariñas incident showed both extremes in security coverage in the Philippines.
Too little or neglectful security personnel can result in a robbery in broad daylight.
Too much or too restrictive security can earn the ire of VIPs in government who don’t subscribe to President Aquino’s anti-“wang-wang (siren)” state of mind.