An attempt by law enforcement authorities in Negros Oriental to fully implement the “no helmet, no travel policy” vis-í -vis the much-contested Republic Act 10054 beginning next week hit a snag anew when public outcry and political intervention succeeded in overriding such plan.
The early separate announcements of Sr. Supt. Edward Carranza, provincial director of the Philippine National Police, and Roland Ramos, chief of the Land Transportation Office-Dumaguete District Office, to enforce the law against non-wearing of helmets by motorcycle drivers and their riders were overturned when Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo on Thursday sought for a “moratorium”.
But, while opposition in Dumaguete City and other parts of Negros Oriental to the implementation of the newer mandatory helmet law continue to mount, key officials of the Land Transportation Office in Region 7, based in Cebu City, are insisting that this particular law cannot even be enforced yet in the absence of its Implementing Rules and Regulations and the prescribed standard protective helmet.
LTO Regional Director Raul Aguilos, in a telephone interview Friday, however, clarified that there are actually two laws that require the use of protective head gear when driving a motorcycle and these are Republic Act 4136, otherwise known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code and Republic Act 10054 or the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009.
According to Aguilos, even before RA 10054 was passed into law, LTO and its deputized agents have already been apprehending motorcycle drivers for not wearing helmets, with RA 4136 and the Department of Transportation & Communications Order 2008-039, which increased fines and penalties for traffic and administrative violations, being used as reference.
On Thursday, in a meeting with the Governor, LTO-Dumaguete and PNP officials “agreed to a moratorium on the implementation of Republic Act 10054 or the Mandatory Helmet Act of 2009 in the city”, a report from the Philippine Information Agency in Dumaguete said.
The “moratorium”, which the PNP and LTO-Dumaguete acceded to as per request of the governor, was set from January 19 to February 19, this year, to give ample time for local officials to review RA 10054. This early, moves are now underway to seek exemption for Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental from the law that requires the use of a motorcycle helmet.
But, according to LTO Region 7 Director Raul Aguilos, there is no such thing as granting a “moratorium” where an “existing national law” is concerned.
Degamo had earlier said that “for every rule, there is an exception.”
Other early resistance came from a Catholic Church official and a regional trial court judge, as well as Dumaguete Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova who also told a media interview this week that he will be meeting with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and deans of law colleges in Dumaguete for a possible Temporary Restraining Order against the enforcement of the helmet law.
Director Aguilos has also warned that LTO-deputized enforcers of traffic laws, when making arrests for violation of the prescribed use of helmets, must not invoke RA 10054. Instead, they must be invoking RA 4136 and DOTC Order No. 2008-039.
PNP and other traffic enforcers who are not deputized by the LTO can only make apprehensions based on local traffic ordinances but they do not have the authority to invoke a national law, such that they cannot confiscate a driver’s license nor issues a temporary operator’s permit, Aguilos said. Only a citation ticket can be issued for violation of a local ordinance, he added.
Aguilos also disclosed that his office has not been informed of the said “moratorium” which the governor requested, but even so, he said this is not permissible as LTO can be held liable for incompetence.
The LTO will continue with its anti-traffic violations campaign, to include the use of protective head gear, but Aguilos admits there could be a deadlock to the enforcement of the law against non-helmet use, noting the absence of political will by some local officials in Negros Oriental to support such law.
He said the LTO does not want to antagonize the local government officials who are opposed to the helmet law(s), but he stressed that such measures are in the interest of public safety.
