‘Discriminatory’ Motorcycle-Related Bills Denounced

Two motorcycle-related bills in Congress were lambasted by Senator JV Ejercito on Monday for their discriminatory measures.

This comes as two bills relating to motorcycles were passed in Congress–House Bill No. 1419 or the Anti-Lane Splitting, which seeks to penalize motorcycle riders who will attempt to pass in between vehicles on the same road; and House Bill No. 32, which seeks to mandate motorcycle riders to join accredited clubs before their motorcycle registration and license renewal.

Ejercito said he will stop at nothing to put a halt to the sought measures.

“Rest assured that the two bills – the Anti-Lane Splitting and mandatory membership in organizations — from Congress, I will not support (them) and make sure it doesn’t pass in the Senate,” Ejercito said in a statement on Monday.

Ejercito added that the said bills could worsen traffic and affect courier services in the country.

Ejercito then explained that riders lessen their exposure to pollution, bad weather, and other elements through lane-splitting. The senator then said that guidelines for safe lane-splitting or lane sharing must be done instead.

“Other than prohibiting lane splitting, it would be better for the government to develop guidelines on how we can implement safe lane splitting or lane sharing. Let us always focus on how to make our roads safe,” Ejercito said.

Discrimination

The sought bills are “discriminatory” against motorcycle riders, as most do not have the capability to buy other vehicles that are not subject to the same regulations, the senator added.

Moreover, the imposition of the sought proposals will have a heavy impact on already economically disadvantaged riders.

Ejercito added that for House Bill No. 32, transferring law enforcement responsibility from enforcers to motorcycle clubs adds another layer of bureaucracy.

Apart from the proposed bills, motorcycle riders in the country have been subject to motorcycle-only checkpoints, which other vehicles do not need to stop at.

Then presidential candidate Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso also lambasted motorcycle-only checkpoints in December 2021 as he called for the stoppage of the discrimination against motorcycle riders through the said checkpoints.

Meanwhile, Ejercito appealed that riders should not be burdened with “unnecessary expenses,” as the senator added that Congress should instead prioritize amendments to Republic Act (RA) No. 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.

“Let’s not punish our fellow riders with unnecessary expenses. Our economic situation is already difficult with the ongoing pandemic,” Ejercito said. (GFB)