WITH THE number of killings by riding-in-tandem assassins totaling almost 9,000 from 2010 to 2020 and continuously increasing daily, Senator Richard Gordon demanded the resignation of officials and employees of the Land Transportation Office for the delay in the implementation of Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.
A news release on Friday said Gordon made the call during the first hearing of the motu proprio investigation that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee called to get to the bottom of the delay in implementing the law.
The law aims to prevent criminals from using motorcycles as get-away vehicles by imposing bigger, readable and color-coded number plates to facilitate tracing of motorcycles used in the commission of crimes.
“Enough is enough. We can no longer tolerate the situation where nothing is happening except people are being killed without the protection of the law. If they cannot do that, then I demand the resignation of all the people of LTO na may kinalaman diyan (involved here). Hindi biro ‘yang ginagawa ninyo (It’s no longer a joke), people are dying, people are losing their motorcycles to thieves, people are losing their bags, their cellphones dahil wala kayong ginagawa (because you’re not doing anything). Andaming dugo sa kamay ng mga tao sa LTO at mga dealer habang hindi niyo ginagawa yan (There’s so much blood on the hands of the LTO and dealers while you’re not doing that). The people of this country will not take it,” the chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee said in his opening statement.
“Nilakihan natin ang mga plaka para mas madaling makita at maireport. Naglagay tayo ng Operations Center para madali makapagreport lahat ng tao kapag may nakitang motor na walang plaka. Pag may nasaksihang krimen ay makakapag-issue agad ang pulis ng look out bulletin (We made license plates bigger so they’re easier to see and to report. We put up an Operations Center so that people can easily report motorcycles without license plates. If a crime happens, the police can immediately issue a look out bulletin). If people don’t report the loss of their license plates, they will be jailed. Pero hanggang ngayon hindi pa din pinapatupad ang batas na ‘yan (But until now the law has yet to be enforced),” he added.
Records from the Philippine National Police showed that a total of 36,848 people had been victimized by riding-in-tandem criminals from 2010 to 2020, of which 8,805 were killings.
Gordon said a dispute between two suppliers of number plates have caused the ballooning of the LTO’s backlog in the production of number plates. The problem is further exacerbated by the anomalous practice in the registration process and distribution of number plates that he also bared.
“Kinukuha ang pera lang nila pero walang proteksyon ang taumbayan. Kawawa ang mga may-ari ng motorsiklo at panahon na para tanggalan ng maskara ang mga nasa LTO na nagpapanggap na public servants ‘yung ilan…Binayaran na ng mga tao pero wala silang natanggap na plaka. Ang laking panloloko ang ginagawa sa taumbayan para kumita lang ang iilan (They are only taking the money of the people but without protection. I pity those motorcycle owners. That’s why it’s time to unmask those LTO personnel who pose as public servants. People are paying them but they have to get the license plates. They’re duping the public just a few people can earn some cash),” Gordon said.
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