EDITORIAL - Don't sideline the majority

A move prohibiting those who are not related from riding motorcycle in tandem in Cebu province is now gaining ground at the Provincial Board. No less than Governor Hilario Davide III believes the proposed ordinance has good intentions but said he wants to hear the public sentiment on the measure.

The proposed ordinance, authored by Board Member Arleigh Sitoy, is aimed at curbing the rising crime rate involving the use of motorcycles across the province. On Monday, it was referred to the committee on public safety chaired by Board Member Sun Shimura for further study.

Actually, this is not the first measure of its kind. In Mandaluyong City, such kind of ordinance has already been in effect since August in an effort to reduce the increasing crimes committed by persons riding motorcycles in that city.

Well, the purpose of the proposed ordinance is indisputable. That it aims to help authorities fight crime should give enough reason for the board to push for its immediate approval. However, some quarters believe that the measure, once approved and becomes a provincial decree, will also have negative effects on the public.

For them, since it prohibits those who are not related from boarding a motorcycle in tandem, the ordinance will only limit mobility, thereby depriving those in the far-flung areas of the freedom to use their only means of transportation.

Sitoy should know that habal-habals are the only means of transportation in the mountain barangays across the province. And banning riding in tandem in the absence of public utility vehicles would certainly bring serious problem to the mountainfolk.

Sitoy and other proponents of the proposed ordinance seemed to have failed to analyze the other side of the coin. While motorcycles have become a favorite tool for criminals, not all riding in tandem are robbers and murderers.

The ordinance banning riding in tandem may work perfectly well in highly-urbanized Mandaluyong City where crimes are mostly committed by persons riding motorcycles. But Mandaluyong City is not Cebu province where motorcycles are a precious mode of transportation in areas that do not enjoy the services of PUVs.  

Sitoy's proposed ordinance may have good intentions. But just because it aims to curb the rising crimes committed by few does not always mean it has the license to sideline the majority.