Press Release
June 4, 2020

Tolentino slams MMDA for slapping P1,000 fine on each member of bike group

Administration Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino slammed the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which he formerly headed, for slapping a P1,000 fine against each member of a bicycle group that put up temporary barriers to protect the cyclists along Commonwealth Avenue.

"This is too harsh and severe a penalty for our cyclists, fellow travelers in the road, who only wanted to make the roads a safer place for them to travel, in the absence of an established bike lane in Commonwealth," Tolentino said.

The MMDA imposed the fine against members of Bikers United Marshalls (BUM) for placing lines of 6-liter bright orange plastic bottles that contained water to serve as temporary markers for one lane intended for bike riders.

Tolentino said the MMDA should lead efforts to promote the use of bicycle in the metropolis, instead of penalizing groups with noble ideas on how to address the lack of public transport amid to the general community quarantine.

"The MMDA should be on the same page with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), which are both promoting the use of bicycles and the establishment of bike lanes," he said.

The IATF and the DILG both encourage the use of bicycles as one of the primary modes of transportation and for requiring local government units (LGUs) to put up bicycle lanes in all the thoroughfares to promote bike use and ensure safe mobility during the general community quarantine.

Tolentino recently filed Senate Resolution No. 411, calling on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in coordination with the MMDA, to designate, develop and improve bicycle lanes in Metro Manila for the duration of the community quarantine. The said resolution was considered in the prepared Committee Report No. 101 by the Committees on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking, Public Works and Finance.

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