Big motorcyle plates in bill a drag, say owners

CITY OF ILAGAN — More than 1,000 motorcycle riders in Cagayan Valley converged on Queen Isabela Skypark here on Saturday to protest a Senate measure requiring them to register and pay fees for two plates aimed at deterring crime.

The proposed Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act requires motorcycle owners to acquire two big plates, which protesters claim will be cumbersome and an added burden.

The Region 2 Riders Federation has collected more than 1,000 signatures from motorcycle owners and riders for a petition that seeks to reject the bill, said the group’s executive officer, John Malab.

Passed on third and final reading last month, the bill directs the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to issue bigger and reflectorized license plates to every motorcycle and scooter to “take a bite out of crime committed with the use of motorcycles or scooters.”

The license plates, which will be made of aluminum, are to be mounted on the front and rear of the motorcycle and must have alphanumeric characters big enough to be read at a distance of 12 to 15 meters.

Color for each region

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Richard Gordon, also prescribes a color scheme for every region to help identify where a motorcycle is registered.

The LTO is also mandated to provide the police information on all registered motorcycles and scooters, including the names of their registered owners and their driver’s licenses.

From October to December last year, the police recorded 173 cases of gun attacks in Cagayan province; 278 in Isabela province; 150 in Nueva Vizcaya province; 20 in Quirino province, and four in Batanes province.

Police said many of the attacks involved attackers on motorcycles. —Villamor Visaya Jr.