Kudos to Congress on that Alabang hearing

The ambush killing of City Prosecutor Patrick Osorio by still unidentified motorcycle gunmen once more brought out the urgency to find ways to curb this menace. Most of them are centered on motorcyclists using a full-faced helmet. Funny, when the helmet law wasn’t being implemented, we used to make fun of motorcyclists using all sorts of helmets, except perhaps the “urinola” that were not considered Department of Transportation (DOT) approved “safety” helmets. Then the Land Transportation Office (LTO) decided to get tough on these motorists and now everyone wears a helmet.

It has come to a point where the LTO wants everyone to follow a standard open-face or full-faced helmet. The reason is safety. Records already showed that there are a huge number of fatalities in motorcycle accidents with people not wearing a proper helmet or not wearing a helmet at all. I’ve been riding two-wheeled vehicles for nearly 40 years and the only helmet I would wear is a full-faced helmet. That’s because I want full protection of my head. An open-type of helmet exposes a rider to a broken nose or teeth if his head hits the ground.

So when it comes to safety, there is no argument, a full-faced helmet gives a rider better protection. Although no helmet, no matter how expensive, can guarantee that a rider won’t suffer injuries or even die when an accident occurs. That all depends on the speed of the vehicle when the accident happens.

There’s a suggestion that we stop motorcycle riders from wearing a full-faced helmet. Will this stop the problem of potential assassins using motorcycles to hit on their prey? I don’t think so! What is needed are those impromptu and periodic checkpoints where motorcyclists are thoroughly searched. But the police are lenient on solo riders, believing that since there is no back rider, that motorcyclist is not out for mischief. I heard that assassins only ride the motorcycle when he or she is ready to follow their prey.

The real menace are not helmet-using motorcyclists, but those “guns-for-hire” assassins that use the motorcycle as their inconspicuous get-away vehicle.Perhaps what the Police Regional Office 7 or the Cebu City Police Office ought to do is come up with a sting or “buy-bust” operation where they can catch these killers willing to kill for a buck or two. If a sting operation works for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to get drug pushers, I’m sure the CPPO would bag a few assassins for hire. This is much better than stopping motorcyclists from wearing a proper helmet and exposing them to danger.

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We have been very critical of Congressional or Senate hearings in the past for the simple reason that, such hearings supposedly in-aid-of-legislation do not result in the needed legislation that would strengthen our laws for the protection of our people. But that Congressional hearing last Monday and Tuesday should be commended for giving us a full account of the so-called case against the Alabang Boys and the corruption that ensue to get those drug-crazed kids out of jail.

With Malacañang getting into the act of solving this problem, what is needed immediately is for the suspension (and perhaps the filing of bribery case) of Prosecutor John Resado whom we said acted like a judge rather than a prosecutor so this case could be dismissed. Commendations should be given to PDEA Chief Gen. Dionisio Santiago and Marine Major Ferdinand Marcelino for exposing the bribery attempt in Congress.

Then there’s that admission by Atty. Felisberto Verano that he penned the release petition he forwarded to the Office of the Justice Secretary in the hope that he would sign it. This lawyer should be disbarred for making a mockery out of our Justice system. It turned out that he is a frat brod of USEC Ricardo Blancaflor and the professor of Prosecutor John Resado. What good connections this lawyer has. He used it to the hilt! What was also very revealing in the case of Richard Brodett was that his mother Myra was allegedly also a drug user and a pusher. Like mother like son?

If we have to continue the fight against the illegal drug trade, the Arroyo government must strengthen the PDEA, perhaps by assigning a special prosecutor to handle its cases. But the general public must also get into the act. It is time to expose drug users, especially those tv or movie celebrities that many people idolize. PDEA’s report that the Philippines is now Asia’s drug capital is a very ugly image. It is time for us to change this by helping in the fight against illegal drugs.