Father Carrying Hollow Blocks In Family Tricycle Arrested, Charged P5,000
SUSPICIOUS ARREST? – Local authorities from Bacolod arrested a father carrying hollow blocks in his family tricycle for not having a barrier.
The Interagency Task Force on COVID-19 mandated that motorcycles needed to install a barrier. However, according to Cammy Timban, local authorities allegedly abused this mandate to get some quick cash.
In his Facebook post, Timban said:
“TRYCYCLE DALA SANG PAPA KO KAY NAGBAKAL HOLLOWBLOCKS … WALA ANGKAS, SIYA LANG ISA ! TAS DAKPON KAY WALA BARRIER ?!!! PAKI EXPLAIN ?!!!!“
(My father was driving a tricycle to buy hollow blocks without a passenger, he was alone. Then you arrest him because he had no barrier?!!! Please explain).
He added that he thought the barrier protocol was only applied to single motorcycles. What’s more concerning was that his father was allegedly charged with P5,000 for his violation. However, the “kind” officials of the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) allegedly gave him a discount and was only required to pay P1,500.
According to Timban, his father even had a face mask and face shield. Moreover, he emphasized that there was also complete papers and a license presented to the authorities.
Then, when his father asked about the violations, a certain Mr. Acot from BTAO allegedly told his dad “KAY WALA KA BARRIER SIR, PAAYUON TA LANG KA 1500“. (You didn’t have a barrier, sir. But, I’ll give you a discount, you only need to pay P1,500.)
At face value, the arrest does seem highly questionable. In this document posted by the LTFRB in April, it was clearly stated that tricycles are only allowed a maximum of 1 passenger in the side-car and no passenger should be seated behind the driver (backriding).
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Backriding Banned Again Even With Barrier In MECQ Areas