BECAUSE the large plate numbers attached to motorcycles did not work in curbing crimes, particularly riding-in-tandem incidents, the committee level in the Lower House of Congress approved the installation of Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) on all vehicles with two wheels.
During the hearing of the House committee Transportation led by Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop, the substitute bill of House Bill (HBs) 5249 and 9821 amending Republic Act (RA) 11235, also known as the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act, was finally approved.
According to Sorsogon Rep. Wowo Fortes, author of HB 9821, it cannot be denied that motorcycles are now the popular mode of transportation due to traffic problems, especially in Metro Manila.
From 2009 to 2015, he said that there was a 10.5 percent increase in the number of motorcycles annually, but this was being taken advantage of by criminals for their illegal activities. “These days, it is not unusual to hear about ‘riding-in-tandems’ or motorcycle-assisted robberies that are carried out even during the day; and the perpetrators or criminals are free to escape and continue to go unpunished,” Fortes said.
This is despite the large plates attached to the front and back of motorcycles, so they now need to be installed with RFID to easily track down criminals when used in crimes.
Unlike plates, RFID cannot be transferred because it will be encoded to the motorcycle, which Fortes believes is an effective tool against criminals using such vehicles. 1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez seemed to be caught off guard when he recommended that even four-wheel vehicles should be equipped with RIFD because they have had them for a long time, especially when passing through expressways.”
