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Tollways
Ban on Motorcycles Struck Down by Courts
13 July 2001
Related
Documents
Pages 1 to 5 of the court order Page
1 Page 2 Page
3 Page 4 Page
5
The Writ of Temporary Injunction Page
1
Motorcycle
riders are now allowed on the tollways. In a writ of preliminary
injunction issued today, the Makati Regional Trial Court, Branch
147 ruled that motorcyclists have the legal right as licensed motorists
to use the tollways. In the 5-page decision, Judge Teofilo L. Guadiz,
Jr. said that respondent Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has no power
or authority to ban motorcycles on expressways and "therefore,
the ban in the expressways on motorcycles is void and illegal".
The judge also cited the predicament of the motorcyclist-petitioners
who are forced to use the more dangerous side roads in their travels
as a result of the motorcycle ban.
Several motorcycle clubs, directly representing over five thousand
active members, initiated the court action against the TRB-imposed
motorcycle ban last January. The petitioners have alleged that the
ban is illegal under existing law and, moreover, that it threatens
public safety by forcing all motorcyclists onto alternative roadways
that are clearly not as safe as the tollways, which by design are
free of the many hazards or obstructions that most often contribute
to vehicular accidents (e.g., high-traffic intersections, road islands,
opposing traffic, poorly designated PUV passenger loading and unloading
zones, and pedestrians). By removing the ban, the likelihood of
motorcycle-involved accidents, already less than one percent of
total vehicular accidents in 1999 based on TMG and LTO statistics,
is expected to be reduced even further. Nationwide, motorcycles
constitute nearly one-third of the total registered motor vehicle
population and are a vital means of transportation for millions.
A central argument in the case is the fact that Republic Act No.
2000, also known as the Limited Access Highway Act, only authorizes
the exclusion of trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles from
the tollways. However, the petitioners have pointed out that the
Toll Regulatory Board has outlawed only motorcycles on the tollways
even though no such authority to do so exists under the law. As
further proof of their claims, the petitioners describe the Philippines
as the only country in the world that ban all forms of motorcycles
from expressways. The lifting of the ban is not expected to benefit
public utility tricycles as such vehicles are covered by regulated
routes and are commercial vehicles that may be excluded from the
tollways under the law.
Representing
the petitioners is Atty. Michael Ureta of the Ocampo Manalo &
Ureta Law Offices.
Among the petitioners are the following: Luzon Motorcyclists Federation,
BMW Owners Society (BOSS), Mad Dog Motorcycle Club, Club 200, Haruroot
Motorcycle Club, Vintage Motorcycle Club of the Philippines, and
The Freedom Riders.
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