Typhoon worsens crime in Ormoc ORMOC, Leyte – Hunger and desperation is driving criminality up in Ormoc after super typhoon Yolanda (international codename Haiyan) devastated the city, Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez said Thursday. Speaking to ANC’s Headstart, Gomez said Ormoc City was not very peaceful even before the typhoon struck. She said there are many random killings in the city that are linked to the illegal drug trade. However, she said the typhoon has “worsened the situation where people are desperate for food.” An ABS-CBN report earlier said robbery incidents are on the rise in Ormoc, particularly at night, as residents scavenge for food and other items from devastated houses. Gomez, meanwhile, thumbed down a proposal of the wife of the Ormoc City Mayor to print police t-shirts for residents as a crime deterrent. “I really don’t see the wisdom of doing that because it is legitimizing…what if it falls in the wrong hands? Paano kung ang nagsuot goon ang mentality? Just because you are wearing the shirt of a policeman doesn’t make you a policeman,” she said. “Let’s be very careful about who we entrust our security to,” she added. The congresswoman said the Philippine National Police already sent 66 policemen from Region 7 to help restore order in Ormoc. She confirmed many police officers in the city are victims of the typhoon. ANC HEADSTART, November 21, 2013
