Deaths from vehicular accidents in Negros Occidental, excluding Bacolod City, reached 132 from January to November this year, records from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office show.
The number of fatalities through reckless imprudence resulting to homicide dropped by 11 incidents with 141 covering the same period last year, while those resulting to physical injuries went down from 640 in 2019 to 390 from January to November this year.
Incidents of reckless imprudence resulting to physical injuries also dropped 437 last year to 296 this year, NOCPPO records showed.
In the same period also, the Police Regional Office 6 recorded 90 crimes committed by motorcycle-riding suspects.
Of the 90 cases, 43 are murder, 20 physical injuries, 20 robbery cases, 15 theft, 3 rape cases and 2 motornapping.
Lt. Col. Joem Malong, regional police spokesperson, said that newly-installed regional police director Brig. Gen. Rolando Miranda, wants a focused effort to counter the motorcycle riding suspects in the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo.
Miranda intends to subject members of the PRO6 Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operating (MASCO) Teams to further training to make them more effective in responding to incidents involving motorcycle riding suspects, emergencies, and other crimes, Malong said.
“The MASCO Teams should not only respond to crime incidents but must also be pro-active in enforcing RA 4136 (Land Transportation and Traffic Laws) and all traffic ordinances of local government units,” Miranda said.
“This will deny road-unworthy motor vehicles to be used in committing crimes such as robbery, murder and other street crimes” he added.
Miranda said that the MASCO Teams will also perform other police interventions such as Oplan Bakal and Oplan Sita, as he noted that motorcycles are often used as getaway vehicles by criminals. –GB
