QC mayor stops 'plaka vest' ordinance

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista has stopped the implementation of an ordinance passed by the city council requiring all motorcycle riders entering the city to wear vests bearing their vehicle's plate numbers.

In a letter to the Sangguniang Panglunsod, Bautista vetoed the "plaka vest" ordinance to prevent crime committed by motorcycle riders, which he described as "sweeping."

"After a review and consideration..., the wearing of vests with plate number does not appear to be a rational way of identifying riders with criminal intent from those who are simply using their motorcycles for their legitimate daily activities," he said.

The mayor also cited that the procurement of a vest when one buys a motorcycle is not yet instituted in the country.

"The intention of regulating freedom of movement and travel can only mean the exercise of the power of control, or at the very least, supervision; without necessarily curtailing the same constitutional guarantee," Bautista said.

"The proposed ordinance seeks to regulate the movement of persons coming from other localities entering our jurisdiction and making them fall under the coverage of this legislation is unwieldy," he added.

The mayor has given the Council a month to come up with a new ordinance, taking into account the city's vehicular traffic management policies and consider the inventory and registration of motorcycles of residents in every barangay, alternatives to prevent crimes involving motorcycles, designating alternate routes where motorcycles may be authorized to ply.