Sen. Richard Gordon has recently been getting flak from bike riders with the approval of Republic Act No. 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act, which mandates all motorcycle vehicles to have more prominent color-coded plate numbers.
Although the implementing rules and regulations for RA 11235 are yet to be promulgated, Gordon has been the target of misinformation on social media.
Gordon holds the record for implementing innovative programs when he was still mayor and later chair and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. He introduced a color-coding scheme for public utility vehicles, an efficient garbage collection program, and transformed Subic into a tourism and transshipment hub after the Americans left in 1992. These programs, while initially met with skepticism by Olongapo residents, were successful and even replicated across the country. Subic also became a model for base conversions worldwide.
The Motorcycle Act was conceptualized to minimize the murderous rampage, robbery and other crimes committed by those riding in tandem.
Let’s give it a try, folks.
LARRY F. PUSING, Block 12, Waterdam Road, Gordon Heights, Olongapo City