Epitome of sartorial confusion confused again

Philippine presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo, whom President Rodrigo Duterte once described as "the epitome of sartorial confusion" owing to his often flamboyant manner of dressing, appears to be confused again, this time over an entirely different matter. He seems to be mistaking the hen for the egg, so to speak.

Alarmed by the rising cases of murders being perpetrated by gunmen riding pillion, or in tandem, on motorcycles, Panelo suggested at the launching of the Philippine National Police Tactical Motorcycle Riding Unit the bizarre solution of banning all pillion riding altogether instead of taking a real serious crack at the root cause of the problem, which is too many loose firearms in the hands of people not supposed to have them.

At the risk of sounding frivolous, it comes with a real sense of relief that Panelo did not seriously consider suggesting the cutting of all trigger fingers of all citizens old enough to know how to fire a gun. That would have placed the finger (if it had not been cut already) more squarely on the problem than this shotgun approach to anything that moves on a motorcycle other than the one whose hands are on the handlebar.

There goes, if Panelo could have his way, the kid being taken to school (after the pandemic, cross your fingers), or the wife to work, or a friend for fun or favor. There goes even the business model popularized by Angkas which has proven to be very effective and efficient in the present-day world of choking traffic in urban centers.

If the problem is murder, go after the murderers, not the accessories. But if one has to go after the accessories, then suck up all the millions of illegal guns in circulation instead of gunning after those who, for utility, fun, or convenience, find themselves innocently on the back of motorcycles with not the slightest thought of murder in their minds.

Out of the tens of millions who take to the streets everyday on motorcycles, one can only count with the fingers of one hand the number of people with murder on their minds on a given day. That is because, compared to the daily commuting habits of Filipinos that are inexorably tied to the motorcycle, murders on two wheels thankfully do not happen on a daily basis.

If Panelo has any real persuasive power over which authoritative figure may be in charge, he should whisper in his ear to go after, once and for all, all the loose firearms out there. And for good measure, the manufacturers and traders of these guns should not be spared. It is common knowledge where one can get a gun. Just ask the police, if you know what I mean.

But then that is the conventional way, the normal way of solving a problem, which is finding out the cause and attacking it, instead of creating a new problem and not solving any. Think murder first, and the means to do it, not the escape after the fact. Better yet, let law enforcement get serious about law enforcement, not the epitome of whatever best characterizes one's sartorial preference.