Pagadian bars motorcycle riders from wearing helmets as crime deterrent

PAGADIAN CITY—The city council on Tuesday (July 21) passed a resolution banning motorcycle riders from wearing helmets following a succession of robberies, one caught on security camera, which saw victims being killed by perpetrators after their valuables were taken at gunpoint.

The resolution was meant to deter crimes by motorcycle-riding perpetrators.

Lt. Col. Alvin Saguban, city police chief, said police had copies of security camera footage of one of the gun attacks but could not identify the motorcycle-riding perpetrators because their faces were covered by full-face helmets.

Effective on Wednesday (July 22), motorcycles in the city are barred from wearing full-face or half-face helmets.

Also temporarily banned is the use of nontransparent, or colored, face masks, tinted face shields, bonnets, caps, hats, visors, sunglasses and eye protecting shields.

City Mayor Samuel Co said the resolution’s purpose was to make sure motorcycle riders’ faces are clearly visible for identification if they committed a crime. The use of face masks to help prevent the spread of SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is still required, though, the mayor said.

“This is the only solution to the problem of identifying the gunmen,” said Saguban, who welcomed the resolution’s approval.

Last July 12, Saturnino Panugalon, a businessman from the village of Kawit, was shot and killed by still unidentified persons while he was buying goods in an agricultural store at the village of San Pedro. The gunmen took off with the businessman’s cash and pieces of jewelry.

Last July 20, Jonathan Ighot Saldua, salesman for a beer company, was gunned down at the village of Sta. Lucia while delivering stocks to a store. The gunmen took off with some P100,000 in cash and pieces of jewelry.

On Tuesday (July 21), the city government offered a P200,000 reward for those who could identify the gunmen in both cases.

TSB