Sánchez: Impunity on wheels

THESE assassins are virtually unstoppable. And the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) has been left hanging to dry. Again. And again.

The latest victim is Alberto Amazona of Silay, an employee of the 2Go Company. He was gunned down by two John Does riding a motorcycle in the early morning of Friday last week at Mckinley Street, Silay City. The assassins wore black helmets and black jackets, and were riding a black XRM motorcycle.

Once the franchise of the New People’s Army’s partisan units, copycat hired assassins have adopted their murderous technique.

Too bad for the NPA and its spawn, the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB); they cannot apply for copyright protection of their murderous “art.” Talk about expanding the franchise and pirating the best criminal practices!

But then members of the RPA-ABB have been previously implicated with these kind of activities. Lawyer Ferdinand Lavin, former head of the NBI-Bacolod, once said that some members of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade had expanded into criminal ventures, including gun for hire activities.

I’m not saying this is an RPA-ABB rubout. But as a movie with the same title, they could be the usual suspects.

As it is, the PNP has usually mastermind suspects, but not the identity of suspects. Certainly not the three John Does on board two motorcycles who shot and killed at pointblank range Noli Carcueva, a member of the Negros Occidental Anti-Crime Group.

Nor two unidentified men riding in tandem aboard a motorcycle shot and killed Police Officer 3 Rolando Malate at Hernáez Street in front of the Bacolod Tay Tung High School. A suspect in the murder is an alleged ex-member of the RPA-ABB and his unidentified companion.

At least, the Department of Justice has filed charges against RPA-ABB members Marvin Salve, Gerald Tabujara, Rustom Puro, Alejandro Capunong, Jessie Daguia and Eddie Fortunado, and Ilog government employee Emmanuel Medes, for the murder of Judge Henry Arles.

As Dante Jiménez, president and founding chair of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), once quipped, “The Department of Tourism’s latest travel slogan ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ should read ‘It’s more dangerous to be in the Philippines.’”

In 2011, the PNP recorded 1,700 crimes involving motorcycle-riding suspects, with 2,089 victims. The figure was a slight increase from the 1,565 incidents in 2010 with 1,819 victims. Calabarzon and Southern Mindanao scored the highest incidence of crimes involving motorcycle-riding perpetrators. Now Negros Occidental is catching up.

Former PNP Chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome noted that street crimes could be lessened and prevented if more motorcycle riding in tandem criminals are neutralized. He said motorcycle-riding criminals are notorious serial offenders, adding that arrested riding in tandem criminals were found to be involved in such street crimes as robbery holdups, carjacking, or even murder.

Though incidents involving motorcycle riding in tandem increased in year 2011 compared to year 2010, the PNP was able to neutralize 298 suspects, filed 158 cases in court and solved 177 other cases through heightened operations against motorcycle riding in tandem suspects.

Our provincial PNP has to do a better job of enforcing Police Integrated Patrol System (PIPS). It simply means high visibility among our law enforcers. Or as we say nowadays, 24/7. Whether in daytime or evening or early morning.

*****

(bqsanc@yahoo.com)

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