The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, urged all barangay officials and the personnel of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) to be vigilant in deterring all acts of vandalism in public places and places that showcase works of art, among others.
In a resolution, city legislators stated that in preventing acts of vandalism in public places and in places that showcase works of art, not only should people maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the places, but the public must also show appreciation to the works and efforts of local artists by preventing vandalism in the said areas.
The Council said that all barangay officials and the BCPO must strictly monitor and enforce existing ordinances on vandalism to curb defacement of the various public places and to discourage intentional damage of art works that are in display in the different places around the city.
The Council claimed that vandalism is the willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property that includes behaviors such as breaking windows, slashing tires and destroying computer systems through the use of a computer virus, among others.
Further, vandalism also involves criminal damages to people’s property without the permission of the owner and it can also be in the form of graffiti in a non-authorized or government infrastructures and properties.
The Council asserted that vandalism is a crime and is one of the most common committed crimes in the country, thus, the need for the public to be vigilant on these acts in public places and places of works of art.
According to the Council, public buildings and facilities are the usual prey of vandals, however, private properties are not immune to such reprehensible act.
The Council added that the defacement of properties state a lot on the alleged lack of public discipline and consequently, the city government spends a significant amount of taxpayers’ money for the repair and restoration of defaced structures, instead of earmarking the same for more productive endeavors that will benefit the greater majority of the populace.
The Council admitted that acts of vandalism serve no real purpose other than to dirty public places or places of works of art and to inflict damage to property.
Worst, the Council admitted that even works of art are not actually safe from acts of vandalism and the latest proof to the same is that a wall mural by a local artist near a bus station was vandalized and the said mural was funded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Although the said matter was amicably settled, the Council emphasized that steps must be taken to deter similar acts from happening in the future and that identifying and arresting the culprits to such illegal activities puts teeth in the campaign to minimize the vandalism in the different parts of the city. By Dexter A. See