PNP admits rising ‘moto’ crimes

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday said it will deploy more cops to patrol major roads to address the reported increase in crimes committed by men aboard motorcycles in recent weeks.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the around 600 personnel previously performing administrative tasks in Camp Crame will be reassigned to patrol the roads.

She said the increased police visibility was ordered by PNP chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil as crime deterrence.

Fajardo said the additional officers will man areas where crimes committed by men aboard motorcycles had been noted to be on the rise, including killings. The deployment will not be limited to the National Capital Region Police Office, she added.

It would be tit for tat, according to Fajardo, as the additional cops to be deployed would use motorcycles or bicycles to patrol areas assigned to them.

She also acknowledged the huge contributions of closed-circuit TV cameras in helping apprehend crime suspects.

Just this month, a hog raiser from Barangay Quilliat Langiden town was sitting on her motorcycle parked in front of a school in Bangued, Abra when two motorcycle-riding suspects shot her twice in the head, killing her.

Likewise, an unidentified motorcycle-riding gunman shot dead an official of the Land Transportation Office on 24 May, while a 16-year-old graduating student was fatally shot outside a gym in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan last Wednesday.