MANILA, Philippines — Tricycles will now be allowed to ply the roads of Metro Manila under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) but only to ferry frontliners and persons out to buy essential goods, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said yesterday.
MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia said tricycles are allowed to ferry only one passenger and should have plastic barriers to comply with social distancing.
During the first run of MECQ last May, local government units were tasked to decide whether or not to allow tricycles.
Tricycles are needed to ferry the people in the inner roads of the metropolis, Garcia said.
He added that the construction of protected bike lanes in Metro Manila is still in the pipeline, clarifying that bicycle riders would not be apprehended during MECQ.
He said the MMDA and the Department of Transportation, as well as the military, have deployed buses and trucks to ferry stranded passengers yesterday.
But passengers could still be stranded on the road due to the government’s limited resources, he added.
Back-riding OK’s for frontliners
Meanwhile, motorcycle riders are allowed to have a passenger as long as there is a plastic barrier and the passenger is an essential worker, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Highway Patrol Group-National Capital Region chief Col. Winston Doromal.
Under the latest guidelines, only essential workers such as health workers and other authorized persons outside residence (APOR) under MECQ are allowed to back-ride on motorbikes.
Drivers and passengers must present identification cards and other documents to police officers manning quarantine control points or checkpoints.
PNP deputy chief for operations Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said it is not required for the driver to be an APOR for as long as the passenger is an essential worker. The motorcycle must be privately owned, meaning it was not hired for a specific trip.— Emmanuel Tupas, Christian Imperio