黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The government should provide free training and education for motorcycle riders to help reduce motorcycle-related accidents, transport leaders and local officials said Tuesday.

This comes after data from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) showed that motorcycles were involved in most road accidents in Metro Manila.

According to an MMDA report, 36,486 motorcycles were involved in road crashes in 2023, accounting for 22.03 percent of all vehicular accidents that year.

The report also recorded 271 fatal injuries from motorcycle-related incidents.

In a press conference, Angkas Chief Executive Officer (CEO) George Royeca said the rising number of motorcycle accidents stems from a lack of proper training before riders obtain their licenses.

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鈥淲e have to dig deep into the problem. I think the issue here is not necessarily the requirements of the dealers [in buying and owning motorcycles]. Ang issue dito is natuturuan ba natin 鈥榶ung mga rider na mag-motorsiklo? Natuturuan ba natin nang tama bago sila kumuha ng lisensya?鈥� Royeca said.

(We have to dig deep into the problem. I think the issue here is not necessarily the requirements of the dealers in buying and owning motorcycles. The issue here is whether we are properly teaching riders how to use motorcycles before they get their licenses.)

He further emphasized that training should be free, as many riders cannot afford it.

鈥淜aya nga po bumibili ng motorsiklo kasi hindi pa kaya bumili ng sasakyan, at ginagamit ang motorsiklo para maiangat sila sa kahirapan. So dapat magbigay ang gobyerno ng free training,鈥� the Angkas CEO added.

(They buy motorcycles because they cannot afford cars, and they use them to lift themselves out of poverty. The government should provide free training.)

Quezon City Councilor and Ways and Means Committee Chairperson Wency Lagumbay supported the call for training but noted that regulating motorcycle use in Quezon City is challenging because most of the city鈥檚 roads are under national jurisdiction.

鈥淪a lungsod Quezon, hindi mo talaga mareregulate dahil unang-una, karamihan po ng mga kalsada sa lungsod ay governed by the national government. Kung tutuusin, if you notice鈥� if we will come up with a measure to regulate let鈥檚 say the traversing of motorcycles, medyo magiging mahirap kasi marami po tayong tatamaang national roads,鈥� Lagumbay explained.

(In Quezon City, regulating motorcycles is difficult because most of the city鈥檚 roads are governed by the national government. If we introduce regulations, they will affect many national roads.)

He added that while regulations on smaller roads are feasible, enforcement is more difficult in major thoroughfares, leaving the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in charge of implementing rules.

鈥淜ung local roads lang po tayo, kung maliliit na kalsada, walang problema. Pero being one of the progressive cities in the country, it鈥檚 harder for us to regulate.聽 And we鈥檒l leave it to the Land Transportation Office to actually do the regulations,鈥� the Quezon City councilor said.

鈥淎nd the only thing that we can actually mandate is to continue to propagate programs that would help, like what George said, to educate our riders of how to use their motorcycles to begin with,鈥� Lagumbay added.

Meanwhile, Motorcycle Dealers Association of the Philippines President Edwin Go said that dealers uphold strict requirements for purchasing motorcycles.

鈥淏asic requirement is you must have a driver鈥檚 license鈥� pagdating sa requirements, mahigpit kami number one sa license dahil bawal talaga mag-maneho ng kahit anong sasakyan sa kalsada pag wala kang lisensya,鈥� Go said.

(The basic requirement is a driver鈥檚 license. We are strict about this because driving any vehicle without a license is illegal.)

Lagumbay also urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to lead efforts in ensuring that motorcycle riders are both law-compliant and properly trained.

鈥淚n order for us to implement these programs and plans that we want to, we also have to have additional enforcers to actually implement them properly. And that鈥檚 why the government, especially the DOTr, should always step up as well in implementing those rules,鈥� he said.

鈥淜asi if you noticed it, when you鈥檙e at a specific road, let鈥檚 just say Commonwealth, Quezon Avenue鈥� kaya nagkakaroon minsan ng aksidente ang mga motor is because one, either the person driving the motorcycle is not knowledgeable of the law; and two, if nobody is actually implementing it,鈥� he added.

(If you observe roads like Commonwealth and Quezon Avenue, motorcycle accidents happen either because the rider is unaware of the law or because no one is enforcing it.)

Royeca reiterated that free, high-quality training is crucial since motorcycles have become a livelihood tool for many Filipinos.

鈥淜ailangan natin ng dekalidad at libreng training para doon sa mga gustong gumamit ng motorsiklo. Kasi whether we like it or not, tumataas 鈥榶ung bilang ng mga bumibili ng motorsiklo kasi tinitignan nila ito hindi lang parang isang sasakyan, pero isang parte o magiging kabuhayan nila,鈥� the Angkas CEO said.

(We need high-quality and free training for those who want to use motorcycles. Whether we like it or not, more people are buying motorcycles because they see them not just as vehicles but as part of their livelihood.)

鈥淪o maraming Pilipino, tinitignan ang motorsiklo at gustong gamitin ito para sa hanapbuhay at kailangan na nga natin sila i-train,鈥� he added.

(Many Filipinos rely on motorcycles for their livelihood, so we need to train them.)