Justice for Given Grace Cebanico: Keeping Safe in Manila

 

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When in Manila, I cannot stress enough as to how much I love this city, let alone our country. However, that doesn’t  meant that all is well and that there aren’t horrible creatures (yes, I refer to them as creatures) lurking among us with nothing but bad intentions and ill will to inflict pain onto others. 

 

Given Grace Cebanico

 

Last October 11, 2011, 19-year-old Given Grace Cebanico was allegedly walking back to her dormitory after attending a group meeting when she was abducted, raped and killed by suspects, security guard Lester Rivera and tricycle driver Percival de Guzman. Cebanico, a third year Computer Science student at U.P. Las Banos, was later found in a canal near the Institute of Plant Breeding road. Read full story here. 

 

Cebanico, unfortunately, is just one of the many women who have fallen prey to despicable creatures. As of late, there has been a drastic increase in Filipinas being attacked in several places that we often deem safe such as school campuses, parking lots of our condominiums, in our offices, our own homes and etc. Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to say this, but as much as we would like to imagine that we live in a world of butterflies and rainbows, there is really no place that is safe. Taking that into account, that doesn’t mean that we just sit back and wait for such a horrible situation to fall upon us; we weren’t born weaklings, thus I’d like to share several things to keep in mind and steps that we (specifically women) can take to prevent anything like this from happening to us, with that being said, here we go:

 

1. The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.

 

2. The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who’s clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around to cut clothing.

 

3. They also look for women using their cell phone, searching through their purse or doing otheractivities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.

 

4. If someone grabs you, you can’t beat them with strength but you can do it by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the upper inner thigh – HARD. In fact, try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can; it really hurts. After the initial hit, always go for the groin. 

 

5. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don’t dismiss it, and take note of it, go with your instincts.  That and avoid walking alone, let alone in the early hours of the day. I’m all for girl power and the woman being strong enough to take care of herself and what-not, but come on, be real. The world obviously isn’t as safe as we envision it to be.

 

6. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do it.

 

7. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you… chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

 

8. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,eating, working, etc., and just sit there (fiddling with their wallets, checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON’T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side,put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU CLOSE the DOORS , LEAVE.

 

9. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs.

 

10. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!

 

That’s all for now, if you’d like more tips, click here. In fact, do me a favor and forward this to all the women you hold near and dear to your heart. I know this isn’t much, but this is the least I can do to protect fellow Filipinas from getting hurt. So, when in Manila, be smart and keep these tips in mind. We cannot stop creatures from committing certain acts, but we can certainly do our best to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Keep safe everybody and have a nice day!  

 

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Justice for Given Grace Cebanico: Keeping Safe in Manila

 

 

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