By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The Land Transportation Office-Region 6 (LTO-6) clarified confusion over the apprehension of motorcycles with back riders in areas under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
Iloilo City and Iloilo province moved into GCQ starting May 16, 2020 amid the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Both GCQ executive orders (EOs) issued by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor allowed motorcycles with back riders, which were previously prohibited under the Enhanced Community Quarantine.
The ECQ in both the city and the province ran from March 20 to May 15, 2020.
In a radio interview, LTO-6 information officer Riza Otayde said the no back rider rule is stipulated in the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2020-2185.
The MC was signed by LTO chief and DOTr Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante.
“Since the [DOTr Central Office] has jurisdiction on transport operations, motorcycles should not have back riders, and only the driver can ride. Tricycles can have only one passenger. PUVs and PUJs can only cater to 50 percent of their passenger capacity,” she said.
Otayde said that the continued prohibition on motorcycle back riders is in line with physical distancing measures recommended by the national government.
“What we are emphasizing here are safety measures. We are trying to avoid the transmission of the virus. So long as there is no solution or a vaccine, we have to have precautionary measures. The purpose of physical distancing will be defeated if motorcycles will have back riders,” she said.
Otayde said riders are given the choice to either drop their back rider or be issued with citation tickets for violating the rule.
“We haven’t issued transport operators with tickets as of the moment because we are reprimanding riders. We give them two choices, either to drop off the back rider or we will issue a ticket,” she said.
As to the Eos issued by local chief executives, she said LTO-6 Regional Director Eric Lenard Tabaldo had already written to Treñas and Defensor to harmonize their EOs with the DOTr’s MC.
“Before the EOs were issued, we have already received the MC from the [DOTr] national office. If the LGU has issuance, they must correlate it with our guidelines. There are conflicts because the LGUs have not correlated with our guidelines. The RD has written to Mayor and Governor that they must review their EOs and review the national guidelines of the DOTr. The EO should not supersede the rules of the national government,” she said.
FRONTLINE SERVICES TO REOPEN
Otayde also said that LTO-6 offices will reopen frontline service transactions on May 20.
Transactions will be open only for renewal of drivers’ licenses and vehicle registrations that had already expired during community quarantine periods in March and April.
Otayde also said that validity of licenses which will expire after May 20 were extended up to the 3rd week of July.
Only those with appointments made through phone will be entertained.
Persons under 21 years old or over 60 years old will not be allowed to transact with the LTO.
