Riders’ group twits Palace lawyer over ‘anti-poor’ remark

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo’s remarks calling for a ban on “riding-in-tandem” on motorcycles was met with negative reactions from riders in Panay Island.

Panelo made the statement during the launch of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Tactical Motorcycle Riding Units last Sunday, saying the ban would help curb crimes in the country. He particularly mentioned shootings by motorcycle riders-in-tandem.

Panay Alliance of Riding Enthusiasts (PARE) President Carlo Eyao told Aksyon Radyo Iloilo on Tuesday that listening to Panelo’s remarks “made his blood boil”.

PARE is an alliance of various motorcycle riding groups in Panay Island with around 100 riding clubs with more than 1000 members, according to Eyao.

Eyao said Panelo’s remark was discriminatory against all motorcycle riders in the country, not just PARE, which he said was also composed of professionals and other personalities who view motorcycle riding as a hobby.

“PARE is composed of (people from) all walks of life. We have lawyers, we have doctors, we have tambays, we have students. Former [Iloilo City] Vice Mayor Vic [Facultad] is a member of our riding community. I mean, so what if they see him (sic) in a motorcycle with a rider, that’s already riding-in-tandem?” Eyao said.

He added that a ban on tandem riding would force those who go to work on motorcycles to seek other transport options, which would be ultimately detrimental given the limitations posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Last year, Eyao also railed against the policy of placing plastic barriers between motorcycle riders as it posed risks to their safety and did not necessarily prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“This is anti-poor. In the Philippines, one of the more affordable options to go to work is a motorcycle. Many cannot afford brand new motorcycles. Mine is already 10 years old because I’m not that rich to buy a new car or a new motorcycle anytime. The thing is, there are millions using motorcycles in the Philippines, and most of them are poor people. If they won’t allow two-person riding, it would be worse in a pandemic where vehicles are limited. There would be a chance that one would have to occupy another vehicle just to get to work,” he added.

Eyao also called out Panelo, saying his view of the lawyer “lowered” as the latter did not know the struggles of those who only have motorcycles to depend on.

“It’s very easy for him to say that. He doesn’t know the struggle of riding a motorcycle, that’s why he doesn’t understand. It’s easy for him because he has money to buy a car, but what about us, who can’t afford to buy a car? It’s already a great help for us to bring our loved ones to work and school to save up on expenses. Instead, would we have to set aside funds for additional fares?” Eyao said.

He said that PARE was willing to work with national and local government authorities to help curb crime, suggesting that they must focus on increasing police visibility in the streets.

“The solution we had been pushing before was to increase police visibility, like buying more motorcycles, one for each officer. The point there is that if people see the police going around, they would stop from doing crime. Instead of stopping our hobby, which we aren’t doing anything wrong, especially that we are here to help the government to lessen crimes, we hoped he thought well of what he would’ve said,” Eyao said.