San Juan business group calls for end to PH taxis

In a letter to the editor, SJBA president Vivek Charran said this should be in addition to Government’s warning to women to be careful while accessing transport from any vehicle not registered as a bona fide taxi or maxi-taxi.

It was “with great sadness”, Charran said, “that we hear of the death and probable murder of another young woman. This brings the terrible toll to three in just a few months.” The SJBA was concerned, he said, “not just about our mothers and wives, daughters and sisters but also the multitude of young women that in the current economic climate have taken the decision to be productive and ambitious and scour the high streets looking for work.” Young women, employed at businesses where employees are truly valued and where a bond of respect and trust developed over a period of time, Charran said, “we the employers are also considered as family.” It would be terrible to think, he said, that these young women could fall victim to predators that have been encouraged by the deteriorating containment of crime.

There are some alarming similarities in the form of public transport that murdered women, such as the schoolchild who missed her transport and the young woman looking for a job.

It was the SJBA’s opinion, he said, that an opportunity was missed to not include in the bio data finger prints of each applicants seeking drivers’ license.

Noting that the business sector was a stakeholder in national security, he said, it is becoming clearer that as people embark on their daily pilgrimage to work and home at the end of the day, they do not know what they will face.

“While this might be so from a philosophical viewpoint,” he said, “the reality on the ground is the probability of loss of life due to an illegal firearm is very high at the moment.” Charran said, “It is no longer enough to increase the number of paid unarmed security guards or CCTV cameras or alarm systems which we already have. There must be a concerted collaborative effort towards an aggressive policy regarding our current crime situation.”