As If Road Hazards Weren't Bad Enough

What will they think of next?

A friend and fellow scooterista, Joey Dalupan, was a victim to new modus operandi of petty thieves in the Banawe area of Quezon City just the other day. Shocking was the manner in which this new brazen act was committed in broad daylight and in full view of commuters and roadside bystanders.

While motorcyclists everywhere will undoubtedly express righteous anger over this form of lawlessness, I am relieved that the perpetrators seemingly only had petty theft in mind and were dissuaded by Joey from graduating to grand theft or worse. Unfortunately, we may not have seen the last of this disease and only time will tell if this incident will gestate into a chronic syndrome.


Must Read: Beware
by Joey Dalupan

Had the misfortune of being mugged today while riding!

I was on my way to the shop from QC around 11am. I took E. Rodriguez Avenue. Upon reaching Araneta, instead of making a left, I crossed and made a beeline with cars to cross E. Rod towards Sta. Mesa. I was surprised when somebody jumped onto my bike (a loaner scoot). He was saying something I couldn't make out. Before i could react, he told me: "'Wag ka'ng pumalag. Yung kasama ko sa likod, me dalang boga (gun). Magmaneho ka lang kung sa'n kita papupuntahin." I made a cursory glance on my rearview and saw a couple of men without helmets on a red unduro. They were just wearing caps and bandanas. The man had something hard against my back and as we were cruising along Araneta, he began taking my wallet and phone (which were on my jacket's right pocket). I asked if he could just leave my license and remembering that I placed my license in my card holder when I went through a checkpoint last Saturday, I asked for my other IDs. He said, "P***ng ina mo, andami mong hinihingi, ah." He then asked, "Me kambyo ba tong motor mo?" knowing that he intended to swipe the bike, I answered, "Brad, walang plaka 'to. Sigurado huli ka sa checkpoint. (which, at that time, were non-existent. Where the hell are the cops when you need them?!). When we reached the intersection before SM Sta Mesa, he told me to take the outermost lane and before we could make a full stop, he jumped off and ran in the other direction. I flicked my sidestand so I could get a look. But the man and the enduro bike were gone. I just can't remember if the enduro was the same bike which tried to pass me along E. Rod.

I know people will have their opinion about what I could have done under the circumstances. But as per Nani and Simon, since I got to the shop in one piece (and more importantly, unhurt), I did the right thing.

This could be a new M.O. So , you might want to be more aware of your surroundings especially at stops. Obviously, wala na'ng pinipiling victim or oras ang mga holdaper.