Quezon PNP to tag ‘clean’ motorbikes passing through checkpoints

LUCENA CITY—To address the worsening crimes being committed by motorcycle-riding crooks, the Quezon police will soon place a sticker on all bikes that have passed their scrutiny in checkpoints.

“Once the motorcycle has been tagged with police sticker, it means that the vehicle’s documents are in order. Those manning the checkpoint need only to check on the identity of the riders,” Senior Supt. Erickson Velasquez, Quezon police chief, told reporters in a forum here Tuesday.

Velasquez said they had yet to set the exact date for the start of the project as they were still finalizing the sticker design. The sample sticker has a seal of the Quezon Police Provincial Office.

Once the project starts, policemen and elements of the Highway Patrol Group would be flagging down all motorcycle riders, particularly those riding in tandem, in checkpoints that would be set up in major thoroughfares across the province.

“We will also write the plate number of the motorcycle on the sticker after tagging. The owner should not dare remove it and transfer it to another for that will be a violation,” Velasquez warned.

He also warned that riders of motorcycles without valid government registration would be arrested on the spot and would be slapped with corresponding criminal charges.

“No one will be spared in this campaign. All violators will be arrested, even mediamen, police and military personnel,” Velasquez said.

Velasquez said they were adopting the strategy to combat motorcycle-riding criminals who have become bolder in their illegal activities.

Data culled by the police headquarters in Camp Crame showed a rise in crimes perpetrated by motorcycle-riding persons all over the country.

Police statistics showed that crimes carried out by motorcycle-riding persons have risen from the 1,565 recorded last year to 1,700, even with still a little over two months before the end of the year.