ICPO to enforce ‘log in-log out’ policy
Following several taxi holdup incidents, taxi drivers and operators and the police are now planning to follow the “log in-log out “ scheme to document the whereabouts of taxi drivers when they leave the Iloilo City premises.
The Association of Taxi Operators in Panay and other similar associations conferred recently with the Iloilo City Police Office to discuss the spate of robbery holdups victimizing taxi drivers.
Both parties agreed to a common effort to prevent taxi robberies – strictly implement the “log in” and “log out” policy for taxi drivers.
Under the system, a taxi driver, when going out of Iloilo City, must record his name, name of the taxi, its plate number, and number of passengers in the nearest police station.
Although some taxi robberies happened within the city, what raised the concern of taxi drivers and operators was the killing of taxi driver Romeo Judillasin, whose stab-riddled body was abandoned at a sugarcane plantation in Barotac Viejo town.
“Even if this particular incident did not happen in Iloilo City, the trip probably originated here,” said Senior Supt. Dennis Basngi, director of the Iloilo City Police Office.
When checked, it was learned that Judillasin failed to log that he was going out of the city.
“So we will really implement the log in-log out system. By this, I believe we could lessen, if not totally stop, occurrences like these,” Basngi added.
Basngi said that he has been personally reminding the ICPO personnel to play a critical role in stopping taxi robberies.
Meanwhile, the taxi operators urged the ICPO that aside from implementing a strict “log in-log out” policy, they should also set up checkpoints in the city’s entry and exit points.
ATOP president Perfecto Yap said they will also propose before the Iloilo City Peace and Order Council to initiate other measures to promote the safety and security of taxi drivers.
“Peace and order is not only the responsibility of the PNP but of the community as well. So, we might as well tap the other members of the community like the business group and the residents,” he said.
ATOP is also planning to use signals that taxi drivers could employ in case of emergency.
The “log in-log out” policy was implemented several years back but its enforcement waned as some drivers blatantly refused to log claiming it delays their trip. Some passengers also resisted the idea.
