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Gordon slams shooting of Customs lawyer; calls anew for strict implementation of law vs riding-in-tandem

Philippines

Gordon slams shooting of Customs lawyer; calls anew for strict implementation of law vs riding-in-tandem

By Mario Casayuran

Re-electionist Senator Richard J, Gordon on Thursday, April 7 strongly condemned the shooting of lawyer Joseph Zapata of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Pasay city last Monday.

‘’When is this vicious cycle of violence going to ever end? Riding-in-tandem criminals continue to afflict many innocent people,’’ Gordon said in a statement.

‘’When we passed the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act into law, it was specifically made to curtail crimes like these because the bigger plate number at the back and decal at the front could easily be seen by bystanders and in CCTV recordings, and the perpetrator can easily identified,’’ he pointed out.

Gordon said people could immediately report the crime to the Joint Operations Center to be operated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

‘’But until now, that remains as a concept,’’ he lamented.

‘’We ask the PNP (Philippine National Police) to find the culprits and bring them to justice, while I reiterate my call to the officials of the LTO to find a way to address backlogs in plate numbers and to operate this Center,’’ he said.

Gordon noted that so many plates have been undelivered.

He emphasized that the LTO must implement the law.

As law enforcers were reported investigating the case, Gordon wished for Zapata’s quick recovery.

Zapata is the deputy chief of the BOC internal inquiry division.

Related Tags

LTO Philippine National Police (PNP) Bureau of Customs (BoC) riding in tandem richard gordon motorcycle crime prevention act

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