QC motorbike riders to get vests printed with plate numbers

In its efforts to crack down on “riding-in-tandem” drivers caught on CCTV, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) is looking at a policy that would require motorcycle drivers to wear vests printed with their plate numbers. The number's larger print at the back will help police authorities track violating drivers, whose plate numbers at the motorcycle's rear are often unclear on camera, said QCPD Senior Superintendent Richard Albano at “News To Go” on Thursday. “Sa dami ng mga tumatakbong mga motorcycles, kung may nangyari, dapat i-che-check mo lahat ito. If you wear this vest, kasama ka sa organisasyong ito, ikaw ngayon 'yung tutulong na tumingin sa mga nawawalang suspek na ito, or hindi ka na rin nache-checkpoint,” Albano said in the report. The new vest will be available to volunteers, which numbered to a thousand on Saturday. But Albano said they are supporting city ordinance P02012-53, filed by councilor Ranulfo Ludovica, that makes wearing the motorcycle vests mandatory. “Without a regulation, without a law, without a city ordinance, hindi natin mapilit... Sinasabihan lang natin ang mamamayan, tumulong kayo, kasi ang crime prevention, sama-sama tayo,” Abano added. A volunteer said they are supporting the ordinance to avoid being suspected of “riding-in-tandem,” a modus operandi for riders who hold-up people on the streets while on their motors. “Tayo namang mga nagmomotorsiklo, we do not like to be blamed for mga 'riding-in-tandem' activities. So we decided to cooperate,” said Renato Bautista, spokesperson of the Sitio Mendez, Baesa Riders in Quezon City. But a motorcycle riders' rights group said the ordinance “discriminates” against law-abiding drivers. “It is discriminating against a legitimate motorycle rider dahil, para bang sinasabi mong kriminal ka na 'pag hindi ka mag-ve-vest with plate number at the back. Who are you to tell me I'm a criminal if I don't wear your vest?” said Edwin Go, president of the Motorcycle Dealers' Association of the Philippines. Go's group is set to stage a protest action against the ordinance on Saturday. — BM, GMA News