Idiotic No-Helmet Law in Dagupan City

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

The Dagupan City Council led by its proponent Councilor Netu Tamayo, a lawyer, had passed an ordinance revising the helmet law by imposing  a fine for motorist who drive motorcycle above 15 kilometers per hour (KPH) and/or wearing his helmet inside the central business district as a way to deter criminals riding in tandem in perpetuating their dastardly acts.

The intention of the dads versus the criminals is laudable but the passing of the no-helmet law is idiotic.

Lawyer Jojo Guadiz, the regional director of the Land Transportation Office based in San Fernando City, even warned the councilors that in case he and his men see motorcycle riders driving without a helmet they would flag and fine them.

Republic Act No. 10054 mandates all motorcycle riders to wear standard protective helmets while driving. It imposes fines for violators at P1,500 for the first offense; P3,000 for the second offense, P5,000 for the thirds offense and P10,000 plus confiscation of driver’s license for the fourth and succeeding offenses.

What would Netu and his colleagues do in case a motorist is fined by an LTO enforcer because he violated a national law like RA No. 10054?

Would Netu and the councilors chip-in to pay the fine in behalf of the flagged motorist?

Let us remember an ordinance can not supersede (replace) a national law.

If the dads were against the national law they should lobby at Congress to pass the law they want and not act among themselves to make their own law. Son of a gun, they are not congress, they are only a city council. 

When I told Ruel Camba in his radio program that Netu said  a motorist can tell, as an alibi, an LTO officer who apprehended him that he is not wearing his helmet (as he tied it at the back of his motorbike) because he is looking for a parking space, Ruel yelled at his microphone: “Tuturu-an ninyo pa magsinungaling ang motorista! Tama si (former councilor) Chito Samson, puro kayo mga nincompoop diyan sa konseho!”

Aray!
 During a commercial break, yes Virginia, I do radio commentary work too, Ruel posed to me: “What were those councilors have been smoking lately? Why they passed this kind of idiotic law?”

Mayor Belen Fernandez should veto this revised ordinance. The city dads should also consider it, too habang hindi pa huli ang lahat sa halakhak at pagsisisi. Aside from being a laughing stock, they are putting in dilemma the motorists  vis-à-vis the enforcers of Director Guadiz – a former city councilor of Dagupan – who are gung-ho to arrest any violator of the LTO’s motorcycle helmet law.

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My fear happened after the Supreme Court (SC) dealt the coup’de grace (deadly blow) to the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) or the infamous pork barrel.

A district engineer of the Department of Public Works & Highway chose to retire as tension between him and some surrogates of some congressmen became unbearable.

Why? When the SC took from the solons the power to identify the projects they want DPWH to construct in their respective districts, the DE becomes the real power who can choose his favorite private contractors instead of the fair haired boys of the congressmen to work for the project.

“Probably the contractor chosen by the DE give a bigger SOP to the DE than the contractors under the behest of the congressmen, “a source said.

The SC decision made the DE and the regional director of the DPWH more powerful than the congressmen in the division of the “loot”.

“Maging kawawa ang dating ng mga congressmen. Paano na ang mga indigents, supporters, at mga media na pumupunta sa kanila?,” posed by my source.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too attotomortz@yahoo.com).