For the nth time we note: Crimes committed by tandem-riders on motorcycles are becoming more rampant, more daring, and, recently, simply more senseless. They come in various guises: snatchers, rapists, burglars, murderers and assassins. Of late, within a span of 12 hours, tandem-riders shot at random five unarmed, innocent civilians in a Fairview (Quezon City) vicinity.
It seems that police authorities are helpless in spotting and stopping these criminals. I have yet to see a daring duo on prime time TV being brought to justice.
First, they are legally masked and therefore are incognito, embedded among hundreds of other bikers in heavy traffic on busy thoroughfares. There’s no way the police can spot them. Besides, the back rider can easily get off anywhere, and gone is the tandem. Not even the vaunted CCTV cameras can identify them or
reveal their identities. No way, Jose.
Second, the pair need not draw up plans like syndicate criminals do. Theirs is not a heist like the one pulled off by Ocean’s Eleven in Vegas. Any day is as good as any to “just do it.” The riding felons simply drive around until they spot an unwary but likely moneyed elderly victim, or a carefree-looking, careless student on the street flaunting his expensive gadget in broad daylight, or a woman sparkling with a lot of bling. When the way is clear, they execute and Kaboom! Mission accomplished.
Their escape is convenient, smooth and, of course, in a Mr. Quickie way. A sniper hiding in a wooded area or atop an edifice can still be stopped by another sniper. Not moving tandem-riding killers. No way, Jose.
We appreciate families who ride tandem in order to save on their daily commute expenses. However in times of crisis involving life and death, their savings should yield to public safety. Besides, these couples belong to the working class who can well afford to buy a motorcycle. The real poor either hike, take the tricycle, or ride the bus.
The only way to stop tandem-killers is ban tandem-riding. Empower police authorities and
MMDA traffic enforcers to apprehend on sight tandem-riders, and/or shoot them outright should they try to flee. The presumption is: Flight is guilt. A human right ceases to be a right when this abets the commission of a crime. In other words, to ban tandem-riding is to nip a crime in the bud.
—POMPEYO S. PEDROCHE,
pspedroche@gmail.com