PHOTO courtesy of Edgardo Gaddi Vazquez
MANILA, Philippines – Visitors in Baguio City were surprised but delighted to see a group of police officers patrolling the summer capital on electric kick scooters.
Edgardo Gaddi Vazquez shared on his Facebook photos of the members of the Baguio Tourist Police with their scooters at Wright Park.
“Dualtron electric scooter setting the [pace with] the Philippine PNP. More than giving peace and order they are now a tourist attraction and going green,” said the caption of Vazquez’s photos.
At Wright Park, cops on e-scooters are a big attraction. PHOTO/Edgardo Gaddi Vazquez
The city government of Baguio recently received 10 electric kick scooters from an anonymous donor and the police force became the recipient of the eco-friendly vehicles “for their patrol and emergency response.”
Some netizens found the use of electric scooters by policemen inappropriate, suggesting that these are more of toys than patrol vehicles, adding that they’re no match to motorcycle-riding criminals and car-riding lawbreakers.
But defenders of e-scooters pointed out that Baguio cops were given the powerful ones that can catch up fleeing offenders on motorbikes or cars.
The proliferation of electric scooters is evident in traffic-choked Metro Manila where many young office workers can be seen enjoying freedom from traffic by using their electric two-wheelers.