A provision in the Internal Rules and Regulations (IRR) requiring a six-month information campaign prior to the full implementation of Republic Act 10054 or the mandatory helmet law, has forced the police to yield to the calls of political leaders and the general public, particularly in Dumaguete, not to arrest motorcyclists who drive without crash helmets.
The provision was discovered by Dumaguete City councilors in last Wednesday’s public forum on the RA 10054 at the Quezon Park.
Dumaguete Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova and majority of the City Council members insisted that with the issuance of the IRR of the RA 10054 last December, all other laws, decrees, orders and rules and regulations on the wearing of helmets, such as Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code and DOTC Administrative Order Ahs-2008-15, are no longer valid.
Cordova said they only got a copy of the IRR last Wednesday.
The Vice Mayor had expressed surprise why the law enforcement agencies were “adamant” in enforcing the mandatory helmet law when this cannot yet be implemented unless conditions as stipulated are present.
Earlier, PNP provincial director Sr. Supt. Edward Carranza had announced the enforcement of RA 10054 in Negros Oriental on Jan. 26, however, the move was stalled following a request by Gov. Roel Degamo for a one-month “moratorium”.
In a meeting last week, Sr. Supt. Carranza and Land Transportation Office-Dumaguete district office chief Roland Ramos agreed to grant the Governor’s request to postpone the implementation to Feb. 19.
Supt. Alet Virtucio, who attended Wednesday’s public hearing, also warned police chiefs who insist on apprehending helmet-less motorcyclists of their immediate relief from their positions.
City legislators have assured the public they will exhaust all efforts to find a legal remedy to prevent the imposition of the mandatory helmet law in Dumaguete City, noting that it was “impractical”.
Tagged as the “motorcycle capital” of the Philippines, Cordova said there are at least 28,000 motorcycle units registered in Dumaguete alone.