GORDON TO LTO, DOTr: IMPLEMENT RA 11235; PEOPLE ARE GETTING DESENSITIZED TO THE SPATE OF KILLINGS IN THE COUNTRY

Decrying the continuous rise in criminal incidents perpetrated by riding-in-tandem criminals, most of which remain unsolved, Senator Richard J. Gordon on Thursday prodded anew the Land Transportation Office and the Department of Transportation for the full implementation of Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act as he expressed fear that the unabated killings in the country is already making the people desensitized to the criminal act.

"Life has become cheap in this country. Paulit-ulit ang patayan, paulit-ulit nakikita ng tao at ang nangyayari ang kinakatakot ko, nasasanay na ang mga tao at parang nasagasaang aso lang 'yung binaril, lalampasan na lang nila at sasabihin na lang nila 'droga 'yan.' Sasabihin na lang nila, 'magnanakaw 'yan,'" he said during the continuation of the motu proprio investigation conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the continued delay in implementing the law.

"That is unacceptable to me. That is unacceptable to the Senate of the Philippines. That is unacceptable to every Filipino. Di natin dapat payagan na magkaroon tayo at dumikit sa ating mga buto at isipan na talagang ganyan. Ang nangyayari sa ating bansa ay hindi natin nakikita, hindi natin pinapansin. Grabe na talaga at talamak na masyado ang pagpatay ng mga tao. Habang nag-iimbestiga tayo, tumaas na naman ang patayan sa motorsiklo. I call the attention of all the DOTr people there," the Blue Ribbon chairman added as he condemned the killings that continue to rise as the committee investigates.

Gordon, who is the law's principal author and sponsor, said RA 11235 aims to take a bite out of crime, particularly those committed by criminals who use motorcycles as their get-away vehicles, by requiring bigger, color-coded and readable number plates for the back of motorcycles and decal plates for the front.

Among others, it also provides for the establishment of a joint LTO-PNP (Philippine National Police) Operations and Command Center, equipped with a reliable data-base, the latest available technology and adequate computers and software sufficient to immediately address any emergencies or concerns related to crimes or offenses committed with the use of motorcycles.

"Kapag ang ating bayan ay hindi na napoproteksyunan ang ating mga kababaihan, ang mga kalalakihan, ang mga pari, ang mga doktor, ang mga mamamayang Pilipino, ang mga driver, ang mga nagtitinda sa tindahan, ay talagang dapat mag-isip-isip tayo sapagkat talo ang bayan," the senator stressed.

Based on monitoring by Gordon's office, shooting incidents by riding-in-tandems totalled to 69 from January 1 to February 17, of which 55 were killed and 12 were injured. Statistics from the PNP showed higher figures, with 114 incidents from January 1 to 31 alone.