EDITORIAL - Authorities need to shake a leg

CEBU, Philippines - The spate of killings in Cebu has a couple of common denominators that should not be hard to miss by the authorities. These are the use of motorcycles as favored mode of transport for the killers, and the killers always riding in tandem on motorcycles.

 This paper has long advocated stricter regulations or requirements in the purchase of motorcycles. This is because the competition has now made it very easy for just about anyone with as little as P2,000 in downpayment to ride away in a motorbike.

 With the seeming lucrativeness in the business of killing people, a downpayment of P2,000 would be a small price to pay for something that provides a fast and convenient means of escape. And with that kind of investment, the motorcycle itself becomes expendable and disposable.

 Unfortunately, our repeated calls to make it harder for just anybody to buy a motorcycle have apparently fallen on deaf ears. That is, of course, understandable. It is not good business to make it harder to make a sale. Even the authorities can be made to see that point of view.

 As to the other common thread that sews all these killings together -- the killers riding in tandem -- more checkpoints and more policemen on motorbikes can easily flag down everyone riding in this manner on motorbikes.

 Desperate circumstances require drastic measures and everyone riding tandem on motorbikes should be regarded as suspects until a search determines them to be otherwise. We are pretty certain that law-abiding citizens with nothing to hide would not mind these searches.

 After all, it is for the good of everyone that this reign of terror be put to a stop. For when fear grips the people, it is not just the fear that we will have to worry about. Fear can drive more people to arm themselves, and that can only add to the problem.

 Too many guns in the hands of too many people can be a deterrent. But it can also tempt fate. There is no guarantee a gun acquired for purposes of self-defense will only be used that way. So many family spats have ended in tragedy simply because there is a gun in the house.

 In other words, it is more in the hands of the authorities to do something and do something fast to ensure the safety of the people in the community instead of leaving it up to the people to take the law into their own hands. (THE FREEMAN)