Happy days for unlicensed drivers, unregistered vehicles or those with spurious documents may just be about to end.
This as the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) under its chief Police Senior Superintendent Dennis Agustin and all police stations, including the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC), Police Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, (PIIB), Bohol Tourist Police Unit (BTPU), the 3rd and 4th Regional Public Safety Battalions (RPSB) and the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) are launching Oplan Alimpus.
According to PSSupt Dennis Agustin, Oplan Alimpus is a proactive police move to implement the Anti-Criminality Campaign simultaneously against Motorcycle Riding Criminals (MRCs) for huge and wide impact in Bohol.
It is also a move to conduct aggressive traffic management operation and implementation of traffic laws here, Agustin explained at the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting at the Reynas Garden February 18.
PPOC members have been alarmed at the rising crime cases on blotter, many of which are traffic related incidents.
In January 2016 for example, of the 660 criminal cases filed in police blotters all over Bohol, a good 31% or 206 of the cases are those involving traffic or traffic related, points Agustin out.
Just as the Land Transportation Office has its traffic jam of issues to attend to and keeping its presence off the streets and highways, drivers without licenses, speed freaks, minors and those intoxicated find its way into a steering wheel of an unregistered vehicle with illegal modifications and unprescribed accessories, which endanger not just the drivers but other motorists and pedestrians as well.
On this, the local police have a whirlwind of a solution and it would be massive and when it is sustained, it can sideline possibly a quarter of Bohol’s vehicles and drivers, comments an amused member of the PPOC hearing the police plan.
For Oplan Alimpus, it is nothing new.
In fact, it is being implemented in line with Letter of Instruction 63-2010 on the “Police Integrated Patrol System†(PIPS) dated November 27, 2010, Republic Act 4136 or The Land Transportation and Traffic Code; and the aggressive Traffic Management Operation and Implementation of Traffic Laws, Agustin explained further.
Here, all city and Municipal Police Stations, PPSC, PIB, PSOG and all maneuver companies to simultaneously conduct Oplan Sita, in all stations, camps and PNP offices, at the roads and in parking areas to check the driver’s license of the driver of MCs, the authenticity of the documents presented (Official receipt and certificate of registration).
Cops are also directed to examine ownership stated in the OR and CR, inspect chassis and engine numbers to see if these are tampered and compare it with the plate number, chassis and engine number of the MC to the one at the OR and CR presented.
In the advent of carnapping, Bohol police also want to see if any motorcycle has been repainted and is not reflected in the pertinent papers, or if the plate number is properly fixed to plate holder and visible (not covered by colored plastic plate); and other possible violations in the past.
On this however, Col. Agustin ordered, …as law enforcers, we should be the first to set the example that Oplan Sita, spot and check shall be conducted first on MCs being used by PNP personnel.
On this too, the PNP Bohol chief warned supervisors police commanders and team leaders to strictly implement and observe no extortion rule.
Now, Camp Dagohoy has issued appropriate order to every station to put up the task force Alimpos composed of the PCO and eight PNCO.
As Camp Dagohoy has prepared for the legal implications of this move, Col Agustin has also directed police stations to post the information tarpaulin on “Mahigpit na Ipinagbawal sa Daan†in their respective boundaries to properly advice motorists of the move. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)