MABALACAT CITY – Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales is zeroing in on crime prevention in this component city. This developed after a spike in criminality from November to December this year which included sensational crimes happening one after the other.
First to go was the chief of police, Supt. Henry Flores, who wasrecently replaced by Supt. Nick Torre. It was during Flores’ watch that high profile crimes happened in the city alarming residents including the ambush of Marian Gantan along the busy MacArthur Highway in Barangay Mabiga here on Nov. 23 and the robbery- double homicide case of octogenarian spouses Benjamin and Cresenciana Cuffee.
Both US nationals.Last week, Morales requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a parallel investigation into the murder of Gantan as he announced a P500,000 bounty for the arrest of the suspects.
Over the weekend, Morales urged the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to come up with an ordinance similar to that of Mandaluyong City against motorcycle riding- in-tandem criminals preying on the citizenry. Morales urged the City Council to come up with the ordinance to make the city safe from such criminals.
Vice Mayor Christian Halili was tasked to conduct a study on Morales’ proposed ordinance aimed at limiting the movements of motorcycle- riding-in-tandem criminals. In Mandaluyong City, an ordinance implemented last August, restricts only spouses, parents and siblings to be allowed riding-in-tandem on motorcycles.
Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos said they based the ordinance from a law in Colombia, a country known for violent drug wars and rampant crimes committed by criminals riding- in-tandem on motorcycles. Morales said there is nothing wrong in following a good example on crime prevention implemented by other cities.
