ILOILO City – Pillion riding or backriding on a motorcycle is prohibited, according to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Region 6, citing Memorandum Circular No. 2020-2185 issued by its central office.
The memo clashes with the executive orders of this city’s Mayor Jerry Treñas and Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo province that allow the practice.
Unless revoked, the memo would be fully enforced, declared Atty. Gaudioso Geduspan, assistant regional director of LTO-6.
Before enforcing the memo, however, LTO-6 would be waging one week of information dissemination that violators would be apprehended and charged with violating the social distancing order, reckless driving, and excess capacity or overloading.
But acknowledging the challenges brought about by the ongoing general community quarantine, Geduspan said LTO-6 would give the city and provincial governments of Iloilo time to amend their executive orders on pillion riding to conform to the national directive.
“Wala kita anay sang full enforcement until such time nga ang local government units (LGUs) can make the proper amendments,” Geduspan told Panay News.
Memorandum Circular No. 2020-2185 of LTO is the “Guidelines in the Enforcement of Regulations Issued by the Department of Transportation Relative to the Operation of Land Transportation in the General Community Quarantine Areas.” Among others, it mandated social distancing on public transport.
Iloilo city and province transitioned from enhanced community quarantine to general community quarantine on May 16 – a loosening up of restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
But one of the restrictions remains – social distancing, or the keeping of considerable distance between people as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus.
LTO-6 is mandated to enforce social distancing on public transport.
Geduspan said Iloilo provincial administrator Atty. Suzette Mamon assured him that Governor Defensor would be amending Executive Order (EO) No. 118 (An Order Enforcing General Community Quarantine Over the Entire Province of Iloilo to Sustain Quarantine Procedures and Disease Prevention and Control Measures Against the Coronavirus Disease 2019).
A provision in Section 9 of the EO read: “For motorcycles, one back rider shall be allowed, provided that the driver and back rider shall wear crash helmets, facemasks and gloves, and perform disinfection procedure immediately before and after the trip, provider further that only members of the same family and household shall be allowed to ride a motorcycle together.”
For his part, Treñas said he would confer with LTO-6 about the matter. The prohibition on pillion riding, he said, was pointless.
“Kon pamilya mo man lang, bilog nga adlaw updanay kamo. Kon angkas ang asawa ukon bana, daw indi man ina problema kay updanay kamo bilog adlaw,” he said.
Treñas’ EO No. 75 (Section 10, E) stated: “Backriding for motorcycles will be allowed.”/PN
