Cebu

Motorcycle backriding for couples allowed in MECQ Cebu City

COUPLES, married or not, are now allowed to ride on motorcycles in pairs in Cebu City, which is on modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status.

This, after the the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the request permitting couples to ride on motorcycles during MECQ, which has been imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Lawyer Kenneth Lucero, head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) office in Cebu City, sent a letter to city transportation office chief Alma Barandog Casimero, telling her about the IATF decision.

The motorcycle-riding couples must adhere to the requirements set by the DILG and the IATF.

The motorcycle must have a plastic barrier between the driver and the passenger, and the couple must wear masks, gloves and crash helmets.

They must also present their identification cards or other documents at border control points and checkpoints to prove they are living together in one address.

Earlier, the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 had approved motorcycle riding for couples living in areas undergeneral community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ. This took effect last July 10.

The NTF approved a motorcycle prototype proposed by Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap, which requires the installation of a barrier between the driver and the passenger.

Last June, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia issued an executive order allowing motorcycle backriding for couples and co-workers.

The order was not implemented as the Provincial Board did not move to pass an ordinance adopting the governor's order following President Rodrigo Duterte's opposition to Garcia's move.

The areas under GCQ until July 31 are Talisay City and the towns of Minglanilla and Consolacion in the province of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue City. The rest of Cebu Province is under MGCQ. (PAC)