Revival of Bantay Dagupan sought
THE Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed a resolution Monday asking Mayor Belen Fernandez to revive the Bantay Dagupan, first formed 11 years ago, to check on the apparent rising number of crimes in the city.
The resolution was proposed by Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo who echoed his observation that Dagupan has its share of criminality posed by armed men riding in tandem.
Tamayo cited how his own wife was robbed by two men riding in tandem after she withdrew money from an automated teller machine (ATM) on Perez Boulevard.
He also recalled how a nurse waiting for a ride to Manila was held up and shot by armed men riding in tandem last year while the Martilyo Gang struck at a jewelry store in downtown Dagupan in broad daylight in 2012 and escaped.
Bantay Dagupan, organized in 2003 as a citizen patrol was tasked to conduct night patrols in tandem with members of the local police. This has since been disbanded,
Bantay Dagupan members are volunteers who have no criminal records and are willing to to patrol the streets along with policemen.
Tamayo said the Bantay Dagupan will serve as another force multiplier to the local police but they will not be armed.
The chief function of the group’s members is to gather data that are vital to the deterrence of crimes and pass this on to the police for quick action against the criminals.
At the same time, Tamayo called for the amendment of the helmet law by Congress to allow local government units to introduce measures consistent with the situation in given communities.
He said unless this law is amended, the city council can not enact a measure requiring motorcycle riders to remove their helmets while they are within the downtown area in Dagupan for easy identification of the driver and the tandem rider.
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