Senator Bong Revilla, author of the Mandatory Helmet Act of 2009 as embodied on
Rep. Act 10054, admitted to stakeholders in Dumaguete that public hearings about
helmet requirements or motorists were mostly held in the Senate and not in the heart
of the provinces where motorcycles are a necessity and part of the lives of almost
every family.
Unlike in Manila where
motorcycles are mostly used
for business trips, in the provinces,
motorcycles are virtual
errand machines where every
short and long trips carry most
members of the families, both
to school, to places of work,
to church and leisure.
Sen Revilla who wrote a
reply to businessmsan
stakeholder Florante
“Tengi”Vicuña said: helmets
are life protectors considering
that motorcycle-related deaths
are usually caused by head injuries,
thus the government
simply wants people to make
sure that they protect themselves
with helmets when riding
motorbikes.
But Vicuña countered by saying
that true, helemets are life
proectors but these should be subject
to the freedom of choice by
motorists, and not rammed into
their throats under pain of heavy
fines.Revilla in his letter to Vicuña
also said that it is only now that
he received such kind of feedback,
that the motorcycle is such an errand
machine for the family.
Revilla appeared to lend an ear to
the plight of the countryside folks
regarding the use of helmets.
In his reply, Vicuña said that the Motorcyle Philippines Federation
which support the current
helmet law has missed the fact
that in the provinces, the motorcycle
is not for pleasure, but
a necessary companion to help
transport the family and the
children to school, to work and
to leisure trips which are usually
nearby areas.
Most motorcycle users,
Vicuña said, do not go on long
trips, but short stops to the
markets, church, school, socials
and to the park. Loaded
motorbikes with children make
helmets impractical. That is
why he is opting for optional
and not mandatory use of helmets
as a possible amendment
to the law.
Under the law, wrong helmet
used has a bigger fine than
the failure to use helmets at all.
He described it as “oppressive
and inappropriate.”
Vicuña suggested that under
an optional mandate, and
under the principle of freedom
of choice, those who do not
wear helmets and meet accidents,
may not be covered by
insurance, and so also when the
user is drunk and driving.
Finally, Vicuña said that it
is only now that the LTO is implementing
the law. It breeds
corruption because silent arrangements
can be made between
LTO and violators who
might settle for a lesser fine
“areglo” without official receipt.
There is an estimated
20,000 motorcycles in the city
and province. Even”areglos”
for P100 among l,000
motocyclist-violators daily
means P100,000 every day in
kotong income by unscrupulous
enforcers.
There is a move by
stakeholders to invite Senator
Bong Revilla to Dumaguete to
give his reactions on the forthcoming
class suit which
stakeholders are filing shortly
in the hope of getting amendments
to the helmet law , notably
in making it optional
rather than mandatory.
