BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) started apprehending motorcycle owners traveling with back-riders but without the installed physical barriers approved by the National Task Force against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Police Major Norberto Barniso, head of NOCPPO’s Police Community Relations Office, said all police stations in Negros Occidental must implement the order
It was the Department of Interior and Local Government, Barniso said, that issued the directive.
Although Barniso did not say how many were apprehended since its implementation, he stressed the fine for breaking the “no barrier, no back-riding policy” depends on the ordinance for this imposed by local government units.
Barniso said for local governments that have yet to pass such ordinance, the police would let violators go with a warning for the meantime. But if drivers repeatedly violate the order, they will follow the national policy instead.
The government has allowed couples to use motorcycles because of the lack of public transportation, provided they will install the barriers. Also allowed are live-in partners and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, provided they are living under one roof./PN
