‘Helmet Law’ suspension sought in response to ‘riding-in-tandem’ crime
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) spokesperson, Police Lt. Colonel Ariel Pico, called the recent shooting in front of the Metro Bacolod District Jail (MBDJ), a few meters away from police headquarters in the city’s Barangay Singcang-Airport, a “big insult.” He asserted, the suspects are challenging the authority of local law enforcement.
“We accept the fact that it happened outside the jail, and the headquarters as well, but the area where the shooting happened is not anymore visible to the police officers posted at the gate,” he added. “The assigned police officers at the gate did not hear a burst of gunfire; we suspect the assailants used a suppressor so that no sound from the gun [would] be heard.”
After the incident, Pico said BCPO is planning to propose the city government temporarily suspend the “Helmet Law” in an effort to prevent more crime committed by “riding-in-tandem” suspects.
He also said they would be seeking more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed throughout the barangays in order to help in crime prevention measures.
The BCPO spokesperson also affirmed they already have “persons of interest” in the case but do not have any leads on the identities of the suspects.
Last Sunday, 25-year-old Crystal Faith Hastiva was shot dead by riding-in-tandem suspects outside MBDJ.
Interviews conducted with witnesses, which were later confirmed by nearby CCTV camera footage, showed Hastiva exited the MBDJ gate and stood a few meters away to wait for a public utility vehicle. While waiting, she was approached by a gunman who immediately shot her in the head with a .45 caliber pistol.
The gunman then boarded a waiting motorcycle and fled west towards the corner of Magsaysay-Araneta Streets.
Immediately following the incident, she was originally identified as Ashly Kate Gonzaga based on an MBDJ visitor’s pass and tax identification number card recovered from the victim’s possession. While police are still investigating the use of an alias, an initial interview with the victim’s grandmother revealed she had been using a different name since leaving her Bago City home.
Police also stated Hastiva had just completed a visit to an MBDJ inmate identified as Kirby Andrade, who is presently detained on drug-related charges./DGB, WDJ