Earlier this month, we learned that two congressmen have filed House Bills (HB) that explicitly target the motorcycle-riding population. These are HB 1419 or the Anti-Lane Spitting Law and HB 32 or the Motorcycle Safety Riding Act.
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, who is also a motorcycle enthusiast, explicitly said that he will not support such proposed laws once it reaches the senate.
“As a motorcycle rider, I am not inclined to support the Anti-Lane Splitting Bill and Motorcycle Rider Safety Act,” said Ejercito through his official social media page.
He added that, should HB 1419 become law, it could potentially worsen traffic and affect courier and delivery services that help the economy.
“Maaaring mas maging harmful sa motorcycle riders ang pagbabawal sa lane splitting. May mga bansa na ginawang legal ang lane splitting dahil base sa kanilang pag-aaral, mas ligtas para sa mga motorcycle riders ang lane sharing.”
(It could be potentially harmful to motorcycle riders [e.g.: rear-ended by a bigger vehicle] once lane splitting is prohibited. In fact, there are countries that made lane-splitting legal, and based on their studies, lane-splitting/sharing is much safer for motorcyclists.)
HB 1419, which is authored by Pangasinan 5th District representative Ramon Guico, Jr., seeks to outlaw lane splitting/filtering by motorcycles and put up a penalty of up to PHP 5,000. Lane filtering/splitting is defined by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) as “using or sharing a lane already occupied by one vehicle by another vehicle such as a motorcycle or scooter on a road or highway.”
HB 32, which is authored by Marinduque representative and former Speaker of the House Lord Allan Velasco, wants to make it mandatory for all motorcycle riders, both old and new, to register and join an LTO-accredited motorcycle club as a prerequisite to getting or renewing a driver’s license, as well as registering or renewing a motorcycle’s registration. The bill says that “all motorcycle owners and drivers are mandated to join any motorcycle riders club, duly recognized and accredited by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).”
It also added that “The LTO shall also require motorcycle owners and drivers to submit a certificate of membership in an accredited and recognized motorcycle riders club as a pre-requisite for the motorcycle registration and approval of a new driver’s license or its renewal.”
Senator JV Ejercito commented that the proposed measures discriminate against motorcycle riders only and urged congress to instead prioritize amendments to Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.
