By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has formally appealed to the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to allow family members to ride motorcycles under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
Treñas’ Executive Order (EO) No. 75, which shifted the city’s status from Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to GCQ, allowed one driver and a back rider on motorcycles as long as they were family members.
The EO’s provision, however, was in contrast with Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2020-2185 issued by Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief and Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante on May 12.
The LTO’s MC provided the guidelines for land transport operations in GCQ areas.
Under Section 5 of the MC, motorcycles can only have one rider, which is the motorcycle driver himself.
As a result, the LTO had been apprehending motorcycles in the city with two riders. The stops caused confusion among riders, who had justified their trip using the mayor’s EO.
LTO-6 spokesperson Riza Otayde explained in a radio interview on Sunday that the continued ban on back riders was to properly implement social distancing measures amid the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
She said that LTO-6 Eric Lenard Tabaldo had written to the mayor to consider the agency’s MC in crafting the city’s transport policy during the GCQ.
APPEAL FOR FAMILY MEMBERS
In a press conference on Monday, Treñas said he will plead with national government authorities to allow back riders who are family members.
The city government’s official Facebook page published the mayor’s letter addressed to the Co-chairpersons of the IATF-EID, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
In the letter, the mayor emphasized that the city’s situation was different from that of Metro Manila which had available motorcycle ride-sharing services.
“In contrast to the situation in the National Capital Region and other local government units where motorcycle ride-sharing and passenger transport services are offered to the public, such services are not available here in Iloilo City,” the letter stated.
The letter also made the case for family members as motorcycle back riders, citing convenience, economy, and practicability.
The mayor had previously expressed his concerns about bans on motorcycle riders during the ECQ period, especially for frontliners who had to go to their duties in allowed establishments.
“It bears to emphasize that physical distancing among members of a family or persons is almost improbable because they are living in the same household. Thus, it would be more convenient, economical, and practical for families to back ride on their family member’s motorcycles when going out of their homes either to work or to buy essential goods provided that safety precautions are observed,” it added.
