Riding in tandem criminals

Finally, the police have admitted that gunmen riding in tandem on motorcycles have been responsible for the murder of 2,099 persons in the country last year.

The modus operandi seems to have caught the attention of most assassins. While the cases are mostly in Luzon where the criminals pull these stunts, still we have our own similar cases.

Which means the system of killing has become popular because it affords the gunmen mobility, and they can easily flee the scene of their crimes immediately after.

Similar cases had also occurred in our province. In short, it has become the most popular method of killing. And I wonder whether these assassins belong to one network of killers. At least, some of them must be linked with others.

Thus, what is important is that, while the Bacolod City cops are moaning over the lack of vehicles to catch the culprits, city cops had already been furnished with motorcycles by the local police chief.

In short, the Bacolod police is equipped to run after these killers since they also have high-speed motorcycles.

***

But another alarming bit of news is the admission by PNP Chief deputy police general Benjamin Belarmino that majority of the country’s policemen are considered “bolo” men. In fact, they cannot shoot straight and hit their target.

For sometime now, that had been the complaint of several police chiefs, I just wonder how come the police organization has not yet addressed the problem of providing the policemen the bullets they need to develop their shooting skills.

He proposed that PNP Chief Nicanor Bartolome revive a program to seek the help of accredited gun clubs to adopt a police station.

I am sure that Bacolod Chief Ricardo de la Paz can tap local gun clubs to help some police stations defray the cost of ammunition to improve the shooting skills of policemen.

Imagine the problem. Gun club members do the shooting for the police when running after criminals riding in tandem motorcycles.

It is ironic when gun club members, themselves, have to use their own weapons and bullets to bail out policemen when confronting armed criminals.

***

While we have been regaled by the long-playing telenovela of the Chief Justice Renato Corona impeachment trial, the government has not made any announcement on what alternatives it has adopted in anticipation of the possibility of Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz.

Even if that does not happen, still the standoff between the American and European powers and Iran has already propelled upwards the price of oil.

And sadly, there’s nothing we can do about it since we buy most of our oil from Saudi Arabia and these are shipped through the strait of Hormuz.

In short, the more immediate impact of the situation is to drive the price of vehicle fuel up with the strong possibility that the continued rise in oil prices could lead to inflation. In short, the prices of other basic commodities are sure to go up.

And the government seems to be complacent about the situation.

The world’s major economic powers have already started worrying about the upward trend of the oil prices. And it seems that there is no need in sight to the present crisis.

About time we ask the government what it is doing and plan to do in the event that oil prices go up higher.

But it seems that during the past weeks, I still have not heard the DOE and President Benigno Aquino III discuss the issue seriously. Yet, no word has been heard from the Chief Executive or his finance committee.

This is serious, if not more challenging, than how to boot out Corona from the Supreme Court. And this is the one that we are fed with daily by our leaders including the Senate which should have discussed what to do should the situation deteriorate further.

Oh well, the circus seems more interesting than the more substantive problem confronting the country.

***

Iloilo City seems unaffected by the fire that razed 300 houses in Tanza-Timawa of the city during the Dinagyang Festivities that Iloilo celebrated with thousands of guests from across the world and all over the Philippines last Sunday.

That three-hour fire, of course, did not affect the celebration which went on despite the fact that firefighting equipment from nearby towns had to help the Iloilo firefighters.

While the displaced were mostly illegal settlers, still Iloilo City must able to immediately lend succor to the fire victims.

Or, so we hope.*

back to top