MANILA -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday reiterated that tricycles and bicycle-pedicabs are not allowed on national highways and main thoroughfares.
“For safety reasons, no tricycle or pedicab should operate on national highways utilized by four-wheel vehicles greater than four tons and where normal speed exceeds 40 kilometers per hour,” DILG OIC-Secretary Eduardo M. Año said in a statement.
While the government recognizes that some Filipinos are making a living from tricycle and pedicabs, Año said allowing them to pass through main thoroughfares "poses hazards to other motor vehicles, the riding public, and even to the drivers themselves.”
“The regulation of tricycles and pedicabs on national highways is, therefore, to the best interest of everyone,” he says.
Año made the remarks after receiving reports from DILG field offices regarding the unregulated operation of tricycles and pedicabs along main thoroughfares, which pose serious hazards to passengers, drivers, and other vehicles.
Under the Local Government Code, city and municipal mayors, through their respective sanggunians, are authorized to regulate the operation of tricycles within their territorial jurisdiction, subject to the guidelines prescribed by the Department of Transportation.
He also urged local authorities to strictly adhere to the standards and guidelines provided by Memorandum Circular 2007-01, which contains the basic considerations in the preparation of city or municipal tricycle and pedicab franchise and regulatory ordinance or code.
These guidelines include the banning of tricycle and pedicab operations along national highways; prohibiting said vehicles to carry more passengers and goods than what they are designed for, or more than what is authorized in the franchise, among others. (PNA)
