By Anthony Giron
IMUS CITY, Cavite – Police have filed charges against 26 individuals, mostly youths, for their alleged involvement in an illegal motorcycle race on Daanghari Road in Barangay Pasong Buaya I, this city.
It was the biggest number of arrest in years that was made by police against drag racing in Cavite.
Lieutenant Colonel Vicente O Amante, Imus police chief, said that charges for Violation of Presidential Decree (P.D) 1602 (drag racing) were filed against the suspects at the City Prosecutor's Office.
Deputy Imus Prosecutor Alexander Eric R. Leveriza also made the confirmation as he said that the case against the suspects had been filed in court.
The 26 suspects, whose ages ranged between 19 and 31, hail from San Pedro, Sta. Rosa and Biñan, Laguna and Poblacion and Sucat, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila. Many of those charged belong to prominent families, it was gathered.
A team of officers arrested the suspects in a pre-dawn operation last January 25 after a concerned resident tipped off a police precinct that a drag race was set on Daanghari Road.
"They (those arrested) went to the area for the drag race, and our officers spotted them betting," police chief Amante said.
The team reportedly swooped down on the group as the motorcycle race was about to start. Seized during the operation were bet money and a motorcycle, Amante said.
Illegal motorcycle racing has long been denounced by residents in Cavite due to the dangers it posed to the racing two-wheel vehicle drivers, the gambling and the noise being created particularly by the kibitzers, among others.
The prohibited drag race are usually held in the unholy hours of the morning. It reportedly operates off-and-on in neighboring Imus and Bacoor and Kawit and some other areas in Cavite.
Meanwhile, Amante said that the drive against "sacla" (old Spanish card games), including those in wakes, and all forms of illegal gambling would be enforced relentlessly in the city.
The Imus (Cavite) Diocese and the Camp Gen. Pantaleon Garcia, the Cavite Police Provincial Office (PPO) base. are among the sites in the city.
The Cavite PPO under Colonel Marlon R. Santos declared early this month an all-out war against illegal gambling in the province's lowland and upland districts.