CA retains decision Mandaluyong’s rule vs tandem riding unconstitutional

FILE PHOTO: Motorcycle riders. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied for lack of merit Mandaluyong City’s appeal for reconsideration of its earlier decision declaring the local government’s “riding-in-tandem” ordinance unconstitutional.

Mandaluyong City Ordinance Nos. 550 S-2014, 595 S-2015, and 694 S-2018 prohibit males from back-riding on a motorcycle, except if the driver is their first-degree family member or the back-rider is seven to 10 years old.

The case started when lawyer Dino De Leon was apprehended on March 7, 2019, on board a motorcycle-ride-hailing service Angkas for violating Mandaluyong City’s rule known as the Motorcycle Riding-in-Tandem Ordinance. He paid the fine under protest and sent a letter to the Traffic Management Department of the city.

Authorities eventually filed a complaint for violation of the city ordinance against de Leon before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Mandaluyong. De Leon then filed a petition assailing the constitutionality of the amended ordinance. He asked that a restraining order be issued against its implementation.

But a Mandaluyong City court dismissed de Leon’s petition and subsequent motion for reconsideration, prompting him to take the case to the CA.

READ: Court of Appeals junks Mandaluyong’s ‘riding-in-tandem’ ordinance

In its September 28, 2021 ruling, the CA reversed the lower court’s decision saying no legal distinction exists between a male and female back rider when addressing or preventing crimes committed by “riding in tandem” suspects.

“We find that imposing an encompassing prohibition against male back riders is an oppressive measure that goes beyond what is reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose that respondent-appellee City of Mandaluyong aspires, which is to suppress lawlessness, disorder, and violence,” the CA said.

It added that the ordinance is oppressive because it limits male back riders’ movement and mode of transportation.

The Mandaluyong City government appealed the CA’s decision, arguing that de Leon’s petition failed to identify the persons who gravely abused their discretion and the acts committed that can be considered grave abuse of discretion.

READ: Mandaluyong City government tweaks ban on tandem riding

It maintained that the ordinance is not excessive, oppressive, or unreasonable but a valid exercise of police power. It also presented as proof of the direct link between sex and crime.

But the CA, in a resolution dated April 26 but only made public on Thursday, May 18, said the grounds raised by the city government are a “mere rehash already considered and passed upon by this Court.”

“We are one in preventing crimes for the City of Mandaluyong’s peace and order. However, we cannot uphold the constitutionality of the subject ordinances when, among other things, the mechanisms provided therein are beyond what is necessary to accomplish the purpose that the City of Mandaluyong aspires,” the CA said.

“We find no cogent reason to disturb our earlier decision,” it added.

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