Curfew vs. motorcycle riders mulled anew
LINGAYEN–A shelved proposal seeking to impose a curfew at night for people riding in tandem on motorcycles in Pangasinan is set to be revived due to the rise of shooting incidents perpetrated by criminals on wheels.
Board Member Alfonso Bince Jr. said he will re-file the proposed ordinance, which he authored and later agreed to set aside after it was questioned by several motorcyclist associations.
Bince said he will make the move following the admission of Police Provincial Director Senior Superintendent Rosueto Ricaoforte on December 10 that at least 23 victims of shooting incidents were recorded in the province in the last 3 months.
Reporting to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Ricaforte said eight of the victims were killed by motorcyclists riding in tandem. Of the total, five were barangay officials.
MORE VICTIMS
A day after Ricaforte appeared before the SP, another victim was registered when a computer shop owner, Vener Esquive, was shot dead at 7:45 p.m. on board his Kawasaki motorcycle by armed men riding in tandem on another motorcycle on Quezon Boulevard in Poblacion, Malasiqui
His eight-year old daughter, Alyssa Nicole, who was riding with him was unharmed.
Bince said his proposed ordinance to set a curfew will hopefully reduce the number of killings by armed motorcycle riders.
The Police Provincial Office recently re-imposed the two-strike policy providing automatic relief of police chiefs if two or more shooting incidents happen in a month in his area of jurisdiction and these cases remain unsolved.
Two police chiefs, Superintendent Rodelio Samson of Bayambang and Superintendent Ericson Bilay of Bani, were already relieved last week due to the two-strike policy.
There are still unconfirmed reports that more police chiefs are slated to be replaced under the policy.
Superintendent Geraldo Roxas, police community relations officer, said others who will be replaced are chiefs of police who are considered non-performers or have exceeded the two-year assignment prescription in the same place.—LM
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
