Go to court, Gordon challenges riders against motorcycle law
Published Mar 27, 2019 06:47 pm
By Mario Casayuran
“It is a free country.”
Senator Richard J. Gordon issued this statement following reports that motorcycle rider groups’ threatened to file for a declaratory relief against the newly-enacted Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.
Senator Richard Gordon (CZAR DANCEL / MANILA BULLETIN)
As principal author and sponsor of the law, Gordon said rider groups could go to the courts anytime if they believe there is a need to do so.
Gordon, chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights committee, said RA 11235 is a ‘’well-researched law‘’ because it passed through the legislative mills of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“Si Presidente Duterte ay isa ring biker, pero pinirmahan niya dahil naintindihan niya na ang pakay ng batas na ito ay bigyang proteksyon ang publiko laban sa riding-in-tandems na pumapatay o nagnanakaw (President Duterte, a biker himself, signed the law because he knows it gives protection to the public against robbers and killers riding in tandem),” he said.
“But this is a free country and they can go to the courts any time. Hindi naman ako ang matatalo kapag pumunta sila sa korte. Ang bayan ang matatalo kasi this is the first time that the government will take action against riding-in-tandem criminals. Riding in tandem criminals have been a plague for this country for the past 15 years and constitute one of the biggest contributors to EJK that everybody is complaining about (I am not the one who will lose when they go to the courts. The public will lose because this is the first time…),” he said.
The Motorcycle Rights Organization has announced plans to file for declaratory relief against the law, but only when they have already seen the implementing rules and regulations. They claimed to have enough ammunition to prove before the courts that the passage of the recently signed law was unconstitutional and railroaded.
Philippine National Police (PNP) records showed that of the total of 28,409 motorcycle riding crimes or incidents reported from 2010 to 2017, 13,062 or 46 percent of which were shooting incidents. And out of over 4,000 motorcycle riding crimes or incidents in 2016, only eight cases (0.18 percent) were solved.
Based on records from the PNP-Highway Patrol Group, there were about 150 motorcycles stolen every week in Metro Manila alone or an average of 21 per day in 2017. In different parts of the country, there were 7,517 vehicles stolen, 6,956 were motorcycles.
READ MORE: Motorcycles to get bigger license plates; stiffer penalties to be imposed
Senator Richard Gordon (CZAR DANCEL / MANILA BULLETIN)
As principal author and sponsor of the law, Gordon said rider groups could go to the courts anytime if they believe there is a need to do so.
Gordon, chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights committee, said RA 11235 is a ‘’well-researched law‘’ because it passed through the legislative mills of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“Si Presidente Duterte ay isa ring biker, pero pinirmahan niya dahil naintindihan niya na ang pakay ng batas na ito ay bigyang proteksyon ang publiko laban sa riding-in-tandems na pumapatay o nagnanakaw (President Duterte, a biker himself, signed the law because he knows it gives protection to the public against robbers and killers riding in tandem),” he said.
“But this is a free country and they can go to the courts any time. Hindi naman ako ang matatalo kapag pumunta sila sa korte. Ang bayan ang matatalo kasi this is the first time that the government will take action against riding-in-tandem criminals. Riding in tandem criminals have been a plague for this country for the past 15 years and constitute one of the biggest contributors to EJK that everybody is complaining about (I am not the one who will lose when they go to the courts. The public will lose because this is the first time…),” he said.
The Motorcycle Rights Organization has announced plans to file for declaratory relief against the law, but only when they have already seen the implementing rules and regulations. They claimed to have enough ammunition to prove before the courts that the passage of the recently signed law was unconstitutional and railroaded.
Philippine National Police (PNP) records showed that of the total of 28,409 motorcycle riding crimes or incidents reported from 2010 to 2017, 13,062 or 46 percent of which were shooting incidents. And out of over 4,000 motorcycle riding crimes or incidents in 2016, only eight cases (0.18 percent) were solved.
Based on records from the PNP-Highway Patrol Group, there were about 150 motorcycles stolen every week in Metro Manila alone or an average of 21 per day in 2017. In different parts of the country, there were 7,517 vehicles stolen, 6,956 were motorcycles.
READ MORE: Motorcycles to get bigger license plates; stiffer penalties to be imposed