ILOILO City – Through especially designed stickers, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) hopes to curb if not totally eliminate crimes perpetrated by motorcycle-riding gunmen. The “Campaign Plan: Clean Rider” will be launched tomorrow.
This drive entails the registration of motorcycles at police stations, said Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, Western Visayas police director.
Motorists will have to fill up a registration form with a 2×2 picture and submit for recording the make, engine number, chassis number, plate number, year model, and the complete owner’s name, occupation, certificate of registration, official receipt, and driver’s license.
After these data have been submitted, the police would issue a “Clean Rider” sticker to the motorcycle. The sticker would contain a serial number.
A matching sticker would be attached to the driver’s license of the owner for easy identification.
No fee would be collected.
There were 231,517 motorcycles in Western Visayas, data from the Land Transportation Office showed.
With the “Clean Rider” sticker, it is understood that a motorcycle and its owner have undergone the process and are considered legitimate.
“Once may sticker na ang isang motor, meaning mayroon na tayong hinahawakan na data about the motorcycle owner. So kung may (riding-in-tandem) krimen, madali natin ma-trace (the motorcycle),” said Bulalacao.
However, he clarified, having the “Clean Rider” sticker does not preclude authorities from flagging motorists at checkpoints because of the possibility the rider may not be the real owner of the motorcycle or it has been hijacked.
“The police will ask for the OR/CR and driver’s license,” said Bulalacao.
The process, however, won’t be as tedious.
“Ang sticker parang passes na ‘yan. Hindi kana pag-interrogate,” said Bulalacao.
The launching tomorrow will be at a mall in Pavia, Iloilo.
Bulalacao said the sticker won’t be easy to fake due to special features.
“We encourage those with motorcycles to have them registered at their police stations and be part of our endeavor to keep our communities safe from all forms of criminality. Our projects will not be effective without the support of the community, said Bulalacao.
“Clean Rider” is a nationwide campaign of the Philippine National Police. It is meant “to ensure the safety and security of motorcycle riders, to impound stolen motorcycles and to prevent crimes perpetrated by motorcycle-riding suspects,” read part of Memorandum Circular 2018-028 dated July 6, 2018 issued by Director General Oscar Albayalde.
PNP data showed that from October 11, 2017 to June 4 , 2018, there were 933 shooting incidents committed by motorcycle-riding suspects. Of this number, 862 were murders and 71 were homicide cases.
In Iloilo City, two most recent motorcycle-related crimes involved the shooting on June 13 of 33-year-old Ranny Bibangco, a supplier of quail eggs, outside the Iloilo Terminal Market and 38-year-old tricycle driver Ely Tipanan in Barangay Lopez Jaena Sur on June 14.
Bibangco and Tipanan both died.
The “Clean Rider” complements the PRO-6’s “Tokhang Kontra Ginadumili-an nga Pusil” – a campaign against loose guns.
According to Bulalacao, 18,000 of the estimated 77,000 loose firearms in Western Visayas were in the hands of criminals such as guns-for-hire. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
