COTABATO
CITY--The fight against all forms of criminalities is now in full swing as
Cotabato City Acting Mayor VM Atty. Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi follows the
lead of President Rodrigo Duterte in his battle against illegal drugs and other
forms of felony.
From
the beginning of her first term as the city’s vice mayor, Atty. Guiani-Sayadi
has been very active not only in presiding every session of the city council
but also in joining the city police as they roam around the city streets and
conduct checkpoints every night.
At
first, authorities were only concerned about the strict implementation of the
nightly curfew for minors but during their operations, they were able to
apprehend and confiscate open pipe motorcycles that were involved in the much
complained about drag races along the national highway. Hundreds of modified
mufflers were also seized and destroyed by the city police.
As
the nightly “ronda” continued, even the interior parts of the city were penetrated
by the local authorities. Several individuals were caught in possession and at
times, in the act of using illegal drugs. The city vice mayor often witnessed
the apprehension of identified thieves and carnappers in the city during these
nightly operations.
With
the joint forces of the city local government unit and the city police, the
goals of a drug-free and crime-free Cotabato City is within reach as validated
by the City PNP’s recent report on crime incidence during the recently
conducted City Peace and Order Council Meeting.
Within
the last eight months, different crimes committed in the city have decreased as
compared to the same time last year, as reported by the city police office.
City
Vice Mayor Guiani-Sayadi says her active participation in the nightly
operations of the city authorities is her way of showing full support to the
President’s fight against all forms of crimes. She said discipline must be
imposed to all Cotabateños
and that justice must always prevail.
“For the longest
time, our people have been scared because of the proliferation of drugs that
resulted to several crimes like robbery, theft, and even murder. We want our
fellow Cotabateños to finally feel safe. They need to see
that their leaders are truly working hard for them to enjoy their daily lives” Atty.
Guiani-Sayadi said.
She
further stressed her strong support in upholding the human rights of each
citizen. As a lawyer and as a city government official, she believes that every
Cotabateño must
really be given the chance to enjoy his/her human rights. But it should be
emphasized that enjoying one’s rights must not be at the expense of another’s.
When
it comes to defending the rights of accused individuals, the vice mayor said
that it is imperative for everyone to consider first and foremost the rights of
the real victims—those people whose rights were violated by identified
criminals.
“Yes, even the
accused has his or her rights in the eyes of the law. But we should not just
uphold the rights of these criminals but more importantly those of the victims
of crimes resulting from the abuse of illegal drugs and the families of those
who died in the hands of hired assassins”, the city vice
mayor said.
She
further called on to the people of Cotabato City to always be vigilant and to
report to authorities immediately if they can sense suspicious people, groups,
and activities in their areas for them to prevent any untoward incident in the
communities.
Vice
Mayor Guiani-Sayadi also appeals to all Cotabateños to unite and
stand up against all criminalities and together put an end to all the illegal
activities done in the city. (HALIMA K. SATOL-IBRAHIM/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)
