GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/26 March) — Police personnel here have established a database of motorcycles in the area in a bid to counter the rising cases of motorcycle theft and their use in various criminal activities.
Chief Insp. Leo Sua, Pendatun police station chief here, said the move is part of the continuing operation plan or Oplan Sikpaw, which was launched region-wide earlier this month by the Police Regional Office 12.
Oplan Sikpaw, which is a Visayan term for scooping net, is mainly aimed at averting thefts of single motorcycles and properly monitoring their use in crimes, especially by perpetrators riding in tandem.
As part of their operation, Sua said they earlier set up checkpoints and conducted the mandatory checking of all passing motorcycles.
He said they asked their drivers or owners to fill up forms that detail the basic information regarding the motorcycle like its description, registration and ownership records.
Sua said the forms included information regarding the usual travel route of the motorcycles and the persons who use them.
They issued color-coded stickers and laminated identification cards to the cleared motorcycles and their owners, he said.
“We collated all these information and placed them in a database that we can easily access for verification or checking later on,” the official said.
Chief Insp. Samuel Cadungon, Makar police station chief, said the issued stickers mean that the motorcycles have been properly cleared and included in their database, possess proper registration documents and were not questionable units.
He said the checking of the motorcycles is currently ongoing and they have mandated the owners of the units that were not yet checked and included in the database to visit any of the city’s eight police stations.
Chief Supt. Benjardi Mantele, Region 12 police director, said the implementation of Oplan Sikpaw is presently ongoing within the region’s four provinces and five cities.
Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
He said they issued color-coded stickers per city or province to properly determine the origin of the motorcycles. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)