In passing an ordinance on the use of electronic bicycles and tricycles, Biñan City is sending a clear message to the public: the safety of road users should take precedence over the convenience offered by these vehicles.
That was what the city government of Biñan, Laguna hopes to emphasize as it passes an ordinance – the first in the province of Laguna - regulating the use of electric vehicles, particularly e-bikes and e-trikes, in our national roads.
Despite opposition from e-bike owners who claim that the ordinance is tantamount to a restriction of their freedom to use these vehicles, the city government has stood firm on the grounds that all road users should learn their responsibilities to ensure safe travel along Biñan City’s main roads.
Certain types regulated
Under City Ordinance No. 21-2023, which was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Panglungsod last September 4 and released to the public last month, certain types of e-bikes and e-scooters will be restricted to barangay and private roads, while other types, such as e-tricycles, will be allowed to cross (but not move along) main roads such as the National Highway.
Electric vehicles that will be allowed to pass through national roads will be also be required to be registered with the city government of Biñan, while their drivers must have a valid driver’s license from the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
The moment the city government publicized the ordinance, however, there was already a storm of opposition from e-bike owners who mistook the ordinance for a “total ban” on the use of e-bikes and e-trikes along Biñan City’s roads.
Questions from Biñanenses
In a live Facebook broadcast last November 24, Rommel Mitra Lim, head of the Biñan City Public Order and Safety Office (POSO), took to answering the avalanche of questions from Biñanenses who were confused or opposed to the new ordinance.
The city government has also launched an information campaign on their social media accounts, in which it detailed which types of electric vehicles will be restricted to barangay roads and which will be allowed to pass through national roads.
During his live video, Lim said that the implementation on limiting e-bikes and e-trikes will at first be limited to “paninita” or warning erring drivers.
“Magkakaroon po muna tayo ng dry-run, ibig sabihin po ay maninita po muna tayo, upang masiguro po natin na maipatutupad natin ang pagbabago na ang highway po ay para lang sa mabibilis na sasakyan,” he explained.
Sources have informed OpinYon Laguna that the city government is expected to fully implement the ordinance by January next year, once the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) are finalized.
Chaotic situation
In recent years, e-bikes and e-trikes have become a popular and convenient mode of transport among Lagunenses (and Filipinos, in general) who found them relatively cheap as well as easy to maintain compared to gasoline-powered vehicles and motorcycles.
With the gradual resumption of activities that had been curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic this year, e-bikes and e-trikes have become a favorite among Lagunenses as delivery vehicles or instant school services for their children.
“Mahal na kasi ang pamasahe, kaya may tumatangkilik na sa mga e-bike, tapos hindi rin kailangan ng lisensya,” was how netizen Throy John Dumaraos put it in a local social media forum.
Unfortunately, the lax implementation of these guidelines has led into what other motorists call a chaotic and dangerous situation.
E-bikes and e-trikes now enter national highways, most of them driven by minors, senior citizens or persons without drivers’ licenses, who often disregard traffic rules and regulations.
“Actually po, isa po iyon sa mga nag-trigger sa amin [na magpasa ng ordinansa na ito],” Councilor Jay Souza, who authored the ordinance, told OpinYon Laguna.
“Nakikita na po kasi namin, personally, na mga bata na ang gumagamit, tapos may sakay ring mga bata. E alam naman po natin na wala po talagang lisensya ang mga iyan, tapos hindi pa po nila alam kung paano ang tamang paraan ng pagmamaneho,” he added.
National regulation
Not many Lagunenses know it, but as early as 2021, the LTO had already issued Administrative Order No. 2021-039, specifying the guidelines in the classification of registration and operation of electric vehicles, particularly e-bikes and e-trikes.
In Metro Manila, several LGUs, including Valenzuela City, have also enacted local ordinance regulating the use of e-bikes and e-trikes along their roads.
“[Sa katunayan po,] nakiusap na po sa amin ang LTO sa amin na maglabas na ng sariling ordinansa about e-bikes," Souza told OpinYon Laguna.
Yet strangely, other LGUs in Laguna province have been largely lukewarm in implementing the order or crafting their own ordinances, no doubt due to the fact that such a move could cost them voters.
Souza himself has noted that they had already encountered resistance from e-bike owners during public meetings on the proposed regulation.
However, he added that he hopes Biñanenses will be more cooperative once they understood the ordinance and what it entails for e-bike owners in the city.
“Kaya lang naman nagkaroon ng reaksyon na di maganda nung ilabas yung post, kasi iniisip nila ipagbabawal talaga. Pero once maintindihan nila yung ordinansa, hindi naman pinagbabawal. Maiintindihan nila yon kung bakit tayo gumawa ng ordinansa,” he said.
Not a ‘total ban’
Souza, speaking for the proponents of the ordinance, said he understands that there will naturally be some opposition among residents who said these vehicles have become a convenient way of travel, especially with the rising cost of transportation.
However, he said the ultimate goal of the local government is not to ban e-bikes and e-trikes entirely, but rather to ensure the responsible use of these vehicles.
“Gusto nating alisin ang pag-iisip ng ilan sa mga may-ari ng e-bikes na ito na bawal na raw ang e-bike. Hindi po totoo iyan; in fact, ine-encourage na nga po ng national government na gumamit nito para makabawas sa polusyon. Ang ginagawa po natin ay nire-regulate natin ang paggamit nito dahil ang number one priority po nina Mayor Arman Dimaguila at ni Vice Mayor Gel Alonte ay ang safety ng ating mga kababayan,” Souza explained.
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