Fighting Back

Homeowners and residents of BF Homes Parañaque held last February 19, 2006, an indignation rally to draw the attention of Parañaque and Las Piñas city officials to the undeniable crime rate and lawlessness in their neighborhood since the forcible opening of the village’s gates.

Dubbed “Black Sunday”, the rally participants wore black to symbolize their concerns, as well as show their sympathy and solidarity with the family of Richard Capili, who was murdered when he resisted the carnap attempt of his family’s Toyota Revo within the BF Commercial area.

The rally was attended by leading personalities in BF Homes, including those from Northwest Homeowners’ Association, BF Kanluran, Sector 10, the BF Commercial Establishments Association, Phase VI-A Homeowners’ Association, and many others from the Las Piñas side, including the youthful friends and schoolmates of Capili.

The sympathy, anger and indignation of the homeowners over the circumstances leading and attendant to the killing of 19-year old Richard were clearly evident.

BF Homes residents expressed their frustration over the city government’s continued apathy to and disregard of their rights as homeowners. They blamed Parañaque City Mayor Jun Bernabe’s manifest indifference to the escalating incidents of crime and lawlessness in the sprawling village since this city’s forcible takeover of the gates. They cited many incidents of carnapping, robberies, break-ins, petty thefts, and vagrancies; car burglaries even in the PCJ Church premises, and the near-fatal pistol-whipping of the lady-employee who refused to open the safe of the beauty parlor.

Those who were present were unanimous in laying the blame on the mayor’s policies. His policies, as well as those of Las Piñas, resulted directly and indirectly creating the present climate of criminality and lawlessness in BF Homes.

What irritated the homeowners more deeply is the callous attitude shown by authorities towards the physical evidence of deterioration in the once prestigious subdivision. “City hall officials tend to downplay the rapid deterioration of conditions in BF Homes, instead of admitting the need for immediate reforms,” they pointed out.

Homeowners warned city officials that “BLACK SUNDAY was just the beginning.” With or without mass actions, homeowners and residents said, they will long remember the city officials’ indifference towards their self-respect, security, safety, peace and harmony.

“This will spread in secret and explode again until BF Homes is allowed to manage its own affairs. No amount of cosmetic changes will do. The Mayor cannot keep glossing over the fact that the rise in crime is directly tied to the city’s ill-advised city policies,’ they stressed.