AS EARLY as 6 a.m. today (Monday), the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) will be roving the streets of Mandaue City to check if motorcycle riders are complying with the face mask ban, which will be strictly enforced starting today.
TEAM enforcers will apprehend riders who violate the face mask ban ordinance which prohibits motorcycle riders and their passengers from wearing bonnets, face masks, ski masks or any clothing that will conceal their identities.
Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing signed the ordinance last November 29 and its validity was reiterated recently following the rise of killings involving riding-in-tandems in Metro Cebu.
Glenn Antigua, TEAM chief, said their office has already directed all of its 220 traffic enforcers deployed in various parts of Mandaue City to be on the lookout for possible violators, who will have to pay P5,000 as fine or suffer imprisonment of no less than six months but not more than one year.
“Some of our field officers will be deployed to monitor areas, particularly around the boundaries of Mandaue City and Cebu City in the south, and Consolacion in the north. At least 12 officers will also be patrolling throughout the day,” Antigua said.
He added that traffic enforcers will also apprehend persons not wearing the prescribed helmets such as the Shanyang, bike and nutshell helmets, and even those whose visors are tinted.
“Helmets with tinted visors are still counted as a violation. So, we advise them to raise their visors if they reach the jurisdiction of Mandaue City. They don’t have to necessarily remove them — just lift them up. The same thing goes to the face-masks,” said Antigua.
In earlier reports, motorcycle riders express their frustration and displeasure towards the city ordinance on the internet, citing that removing face covers may expose them to possible health risks arising from breathing combustion smoke from vehicles and dust flying around the roads.
But Antigua reiterated the Mandaue City Government’s urge for the riding public to bear and cooperate with them.
“Even us in Team, we were told that enforcers who have face covers will be apprehended, too. We have no choice. There’s no exception. But it’s good for everyone and for the City of Mandaue, so let’s just be cooperative,” he said. /with Inquirer.net