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THE Metro Manila mayors have a good reason to worry
about hooded bikers and their relation to crime. Too many robberies,
shootings and petty crimes have been perpetrated by motorbike-riding
hoods and their accomplices. The victims, small and big fry, are
often helpless against the speed, stealth and surprise sprung on
them.
The mayors met recently to
discuss crime in their jurisdictions. Mayor Vicente Eusebio of Pasig
City made the observation that crime on wheels has increased and
that the authorities are one step behind in stopping it. Killings
and robberies, for example, are usually carried out by pairs riding
in tandem. As the driver approaches and leaves the scene of the
crime with lightning speed, the backrider snatches a cell phone,
grabs a handbag or fires at a victim.
The perps are difficult to
identify because they wear crash helmets that fully cover their
face. Others wear hoods and masks not to protect themselves from
dirty air but to elude identification. Dark visors are de rigeur.
At the meeting, the vice mayor of
Makati suggested that the Metro Manila governments ape Makati City
which has required motorcycle riders to use helmets that protect
heads but do not cover the face. The mayors nodded but felt much
more could be done to curb motorbike crime.
The first step is to require the
rigorous registration of motorbikes and bike owners. Local
governments should pass ordinances on wearing appropriate crash
helmets. The police should put more bike-riding officers on the
streets to chase and arrest lawbreakers.
It’s not the criminally
inclined bikers alone who worry the public. Speed fanatics scare the
wit out of car owners and public-transport drivers by cutting other
vehicles and breaking traffic rules.
Cyclists are also becoming a
menace on the road. Too many bicycle owners commute without wearing
regulation helmets. They dare travel at night without lights or
luminous reflectors. We doubt if many are licensed or have a permit
to operate. They love to ape their motorcycling brothers by weaving
in and out of traffic.
The motorbike and bicycle riders
are untouchables to the Land Transportation Office agents and
officers of the PNP’s Traffic Management Group. They whiz down the
streets day after day without being arrested or cited. Like the
pedicab pilots, they have become the new kings of the road.
They contribute to other
problems. They are too noisy and intrusive. They pollute the air.
They are a threat to individual commuters and to public safety. The
most obvious is that recent big crimes—the bloody killings of
public officers and private citizens—were often carried out by
masked bike riders.
One good thing that could be said
about motorcycles and bicycles is that they are cheaper to cars.
They are more affordable to commuters looking for an option to
jeepneys, buses or the rail system.
Affordability, however, points to
a bigger danger: the likely explosion of two-wheeled drives on
streets and on highways. The domination of cars, buses, jeeps and
taxis on the road is bad enough. But an invasion and takeover by
motorcycles, bicycles and pedicabs will have great implications for
air pollution, community health, public safety, traffic gridlocks
and big-time crime.
We warned you
LET’S listen to Labor Secretary
Arturo Brion who has warned the public about an international
recruitment syndicate that is using the Internet to advertise ghost
hotel jobs in the United Kingdom. Be careful, he said, about a
“Crystal Springs Hotel” in London which has advised recruitment
agencies in Manila that it was ready to offer work to Filipino
jobseekers.
With the secretary’s warning in
mind, we reprint the 10 Don’ts to Avoid Illegal Recruitment
suggested by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA),
which Mr. Brion chairs and Administrator Linda Baldoz heads.
1 Don’t apply at recruitment
agencies not licensed by the POEA.
2 Don’t deal with licensed
agencies that do not have job orders.
3 Don’t deal with a person who
is not an authorized representative of a licensed agency.
4 Don’t do business outside the
registered address of the agency. If recruitment takes place in a
province, check if the agency has a provincial recruitment
authority. Ask the DOLE provincial employment service office.
5 Don’t pay more than the
allowed placement fee, which is equivalent to one-month salary,
exclusive of documentation and processing costs, which is not more
than P5,000.
6 Don’t pay the placement fee
unless you have a valid employment contract and an official receipt.
7 Don’t be enticed by ads
requiring you to reply to a post office box and to enclose payment
for application forms and paper processing.
8 Don’t deal with training
centers, travel agencies and foundations that promise overseas jobs.
9 Don’t accept tourist or
visitor’s visas.
10 Don’t deal with fixers.
11 Don’t tell us the POEA did
not warn you.
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