The Zambonga City Hall. (PNA file photo)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The city government is looking into the possibility of easing up the implementation of the national helmet law as a measure to deter the occurrence of shooting incidents.
Mayor John Dalipe said Wednesday he requested Ginagene Vaño-Uy, Department of the Interior and Local Government director here, to find out if there are local government units (LGUs) in the country implementing a helmet ban on riding-in-tandem motorists.
Dalipe said he came up with the idea after the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) reported that the suspects in most if not all shooting incidents were wearing full-faced crash helmets to conceal their identities, especially from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in strategic locations of the city.
Since January, the ZCPO reported that 11 shooting incidents were registered in the city of which the latest victim was a driver who was shot and killed Wednesday by riding-in-tandem gunmen with full face crash helmets.
Rosalino Locson Samonte was repeatedly shot by one of two motorcycle-riding men wearing face masks and full-face crash helmets Wednesday morning in front of his residence in Barangay Tumaga here.
Dalipe suggested that the donning of crash helmets would not be required for riding-in-tandem motorists entering the city limits.
He noted that the cities of Pagadian and Mandaluyong had ease up the implementation of the national helmet law, allowing motorists without helmets, as a counter-measure against gun attackers.
Meanwhile, Col. Alexander Lorenzo, ZCPO director, said that three of the shooting incidents have already been solved with the arrest of the suspects and the filing of charges against them.
Lorenzo said the rest of the incidents are under investigation. (PNA)
