Manila ordinance pushes ban on ‘riding in tandem’

MANILA, Philippines–Men riding in pairs on motorcycles on the streets of Manila, beware.

You could be jailed for a month and fined P3,000 if an ordinance proposed by a Manila councilor seeking the prohibition of so-called riding-in tandem on motorcycles in Manila is passed.

Councilor Rodolfo Lacsamana proposed the ban in a bid to deter crimes in the city, saying violators will be “under suspicion of planning a criminal act.”

The draft ordinance authored by Lacsamana cited the “unsolved crimes” of “countless and unrestrained acts of, day and night, snatching of bags, jewelry and cell phones” perpetrated by criminals riding in tandem.

The measure also cited the case of Polytechnic University of the Philippines vice president Augustus Cesar, who was reportedly shot dead by two motorcycle-riding assailants in October last year.

“This heinous crime is far from being isolated as there have been previous cases where men riding in tandem brazenly killed their unsuspecting victims with impunity,” it said.

Just recently, a Manila cop was shot dead when he flagged down two men on a motorcycle. A Chinese trader was also killed in a robbery last week with the same modus.

The proposed ordinance added that motorcycles were “fast, sleek and easy to maneuver even in heavy traffic being capable of sprinting away through narrow alleys to elude pursuing police vehicles.”