Senator Richard J. Gordon on Tuesday renewed his call for the immediate implementation of the motorcycle crime prevention law to stop the crimes committed by criminals on board motorcycles.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, noted that even the recent imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is failing to deter riding-in-tandem criminals.
He stressed that there should be no dilly-dallying in the enforcement of Republic Act No. 11235, the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act of 2019, since the number of riding-in-tandem killings continues to rise.
“The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law is already there, why is it still not enforced? These motorcycle-riding criminals will continue to commit these remorseless killings unless it is enforced. Even the ECQ did not stop them. We cannot let this injustice continue. Dead men tell no tales and it is left to us to seek justice for them,” he added.
Based on the monitoring conducted by his office, Gordon said there have been 112 victims of motorcycle-riding gunmen from January 1 to July 5.
The latest victims were Executive Master Sergeant Arnold Paclibar in Sultan Kudarat and Aladdin Alon in Maguindanao. Both were killed while manning checkpoints in their areas on July 3.
On July 2, a 15-year old girl was also gunned down in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur while on her way home from the police station where she had just filed a “molestation complaint” against two policemen from neighboring San Juan town.
“While motorcycle riders have been essential in keeping the economy going amid the pandemic, we cannot deny that there are criminals who make use of motorcycles to perpetrate crimes. This law will not only make it easier to catch up with these criminals, it will also protect law-abiding motorcycle owners,” Gordon said.
Gordon was the principal author and sponsor of the law.
“Ang pinalakihan ay ‘yung plaka o number plate sa likod pero ‘yung sa harap decal o sticker na ikakabit to fit the model of the motorcycle. Ang purpose nito ay para madaling matandaan ng mga saksi ‘yung plate number ng motorsiklo kapag ginamit sa krimen,” he added. (What is being mandated is that the plate number at the back of motorcycles should be bigger and that a decal or sticker as the plate number in front is enough. The purpose is that witnesses could easily read the big plate numbers of motorcycles used in crimes.)
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) recently signed a memorandum placing the implementation of the law on hold due to the non-availability of the license plates and stickers that was compounded by the lockdowns.