Gordon slams 'Doble Plaka' tag as a propaganda tool

Senator Richard J. Gordon has lashed back at his detractors, slamming the "Doble Plaka" tag on Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act as a propaganda tool propagated to fuel the misplaced ire of riders.

"In the first place, the title of the law is Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act of 2019, hindi Doble Plaka. That is a misnomer dahil hindi naman lalagyan ng plaka yung harapan. Ang ilalagay sticker or decal na hindi magpo-pose ng danger sa safety ng riders. Isa lang yan sa mga propagandang pinapakalat nung mga ayaw sa batas na ito," he said.

Gordon, principal author and sponsor of RA 11235, voiced suspicion that President Rodrigo R. Duterte may have been fed similar information which veiled from his sight two of the foremost objectives of the law which are to protect the public from crimes committed using motorcycles as getaway vehicles, such as extra-judicial killings, and to give justice to the "dead men who can tell no tales."

"Kung ipapatawag niya ako e pupunta ako at haharap sa kanya. Pero sa palagay ko mistake lang yung naibigay sa kanya, as usual, like yung dobleng plaka, hindi doble plaka yan; katulad nung sinasabing lata, lilipad sa mukha. Pwede ba naman yun? Syempre Red Cross ako, safe driving tayo. Kaya nga, we also stand up para sa mga naaaksidenteng motorcycle riders. Araw-araw may sinasagip kami sa Red Cross na biktima ng motorcycle mishap. Kasi dun tayo sa para sa kabutihan ng pangkalahatan - yung common good," he noted.

The chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights stressed that what is important is peace and order, protecting citizens from being killed without getting justice because riding-in-tandem killers get away easily with motorcycles as their getaway vehicles.

"Hindi ako nagpapagwapo, ten years na yan e. Noong una pa lang akong naging senador, sinasabi ko na yan. Kawawa naman yung taong walang kalaban-laban, namatay ang nanay niya, binaril, namatay ang tatay niya, huwes, namatay ang tatay niya fiscal, namatay ang tatay niya pulis. Walang kalaban-laban. Sinong nagsasalita dun? Hindi makapagsalita yang mga yan, hindi sila organized. Kung hindi natin ipaglalaban ang mga yan e kawawa talaga ang tao. Naninindigan po ako para sa tao - kailangan nating proteksyunan na. Sobra na ang patayan na ginagawa ng mga riding-in-tandem, tatlong dekada na po yan," Gordon said.

"Pag binaril, syempre madaling tumakas pagka motorsiklo at kung walang plaka e talagang matatakasan ka. Dito sa batas na ito, kung wala kang plaka mahuhuli ka agad, kung yung plaka mo binura, may fine yan, kung di mo pinarehistro yung motorsiklo mo may fine na malaki para mag-alangan silang i-violate," he added.