Ella Montalban | Posted on May 29, 2020 at 9:38 p.m.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) stood firm on its stand that it still wouldn’t allow family members as backriders on a motorcycle.
Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap made an appeal before the DILG on this as they expressed willingness to issue a backriders’ pass.
However, Yap divulged in a published statement on his Facebook page that DILG Sec. Eduardo Año declined their request to do so.
“Sec. Año simply declined and firmly stands on keeping the ”No Back Ride” policy,” he wrote on his post.
Even under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ), backrides were still not allowed in Bohol.
Land Transportation Office Region 7 Director (LTO-7) Victor Caindec, in a meeting with Cebu mayors in Balamban earlier this month, reiterated that backrides are not allowed as it defeats the purpose of physical distancing.
Ako Bicol party-list Representative Alfredo Garbin Jr. has suggested that the government allow motorcycle riders to have one back-riding passenger in GCQ areas, noting that the “motorcycle is possibly the only mode of transportation for poor, low-income, and lower middle income segments of the population.”
In a report by GMA News, Garbin said the motorcycle driver and passengers must be required to wear helmets and face shields as well as face masks once the one back-riding policy will be allowed.
Those who wouldn’t follow will not be allowed to pass through the checkpoints.
