The price of personal safety
These days, it is commonplace to watch the news and find out how people have been visited by tragedy, whether it be personal physical assaults, fires, and just random occurrences that result in death or injury. Because of the constant bombardment of these types of events, it is understandable that people become inured or casual or indifferent about potential danger. Perhaps, the attitude becomes one of at least indifference being that the tragedy happens to others but not myself. While tragedy usually strikes in random fashion, it pays to have at least the basic precautions to avoid occurrences of this nature.
The prevalence of poverty in our country indicates that personal physical attacks to grab properties and assets will be commonplace. That makes cellphones extremely attractive as targets for criminals as these are in demand and are almost must-haves for the average Filipino.
Snatch- and- grab tactics are the most usually employed methods, particularly for jeepney commuters. To discourage these crimes, it will be useful to go to the NTC and report the code number of your stolen phone to permanently lock the signal of the phone for further use. For people walking in isolated, dimly lit places, the cellphone may not be the only point of interest, but may also be the person himself or herself. It will be useful to carry a whistle which costs very little (P50 or so) to attract attention. For those with a more generous budget, pepper spray (about P650) will also be a good deterrent. Remember that the first 60 seconds of an attack are the life and death moments for potential attack victims. Protecting properties from crimes sometimes leads to potentially disastrous measures. Many homes are equipped with iron bars and grills to prevent robberies through forced entry. Many, however, neglect to provide for a padlocked escape provision in the grills and tragedy strikes when a fire breaks out and the occupants find themselves trapped inside the room with barred exits.
Fire is a commonplace threat for homeowners and occupants. Every month, there are at least a dozen fires reported throughout the nation, often with tragic results. While it may seem repetitious, a fire extinguisher is as important as electricity to a household. As a matter of fact, faulty electrical connections are among the top three causes of fires. A fire extinguisher is important in the kitchen and in any other place where flammable materials may be stored or where flammable materials are awaiting the outbreak of a fire such as a library where the paper in books are a rich source of tinder or in heavily curtained rooms where the cloth may spread the fire at the same time release noxious gases which, when inhaled may cause asphyxia. A heavy duty house fire extinguisher could set one back as much as P3,000 per unit but smaller units for rooms may cost only about P300-P800 per unit.
The proliferation of highrises, condominiums and other tall buildings should give pause for thought to workers, residents or other occupants of high- rises. What if a fire or such other similar disaster such as an earthquake should make