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More on the Ordinance Regarding Sticking License Plate Numbers on Motorcycle Riders Helmets

Posted on 02. Jul, 2007 by dimaks in Life

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Image: original upload by Boylit De Guzman of the Motorcycleasia forums

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is good to launch its recently passed resolution – an ordinance requiring motorcycle drivers to stick their motorcycle license plate numbers on their helmets. An article regarding the enactment of the resolution, in the MMDA’s online bulletin begins as;

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Metro mayors and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are considering enacting a resolution requiring motorcycle riders to paste up their license plate numbers on both sides of their helmets in a bid to curb the spate of snatching, hold-up and robbery cases perpetrated particularly by those riding on these two-wheeled motor bikes in tandem. (Read full artcile)

And this is what the PNP has to say:

June 28, 2007
Updated 22:24:15 (Mla time)
Alcuin Papa
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Thursday there was no need for motorcycle riders to wear the license plate numbers of their vehicles on their helmets.

Chief Superintendent Errol Pan, the PNP Traffic Management Group (TMG) director and a motorcycle rider, said the new regulation being studied by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) would not make catching motorcycle-riding criminals any easier.

“There’s no need to put the license plate numbers on the helmets. There is already a license plate on the vehicle. This will add confusion to law enforcement and the general public,” Pan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

He said criminals did not usually wear helmets because these could obstruct their vision. Also, the criminals can simply exchange helmets in a bid to elude police, Pan said.

He added that imposing the new helmet regulation would “add a burden” to motorcycle owners. (Read full article)

And on the other hand;

BINAY REMINDS MMDA TO OBEY DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT
posted 06/25/2007 01:00 PM MONDAY (Taken from Makati City news article)

Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay today reminded the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to obey the decisions of the Supreme Court that define the limits of the agency’s powers.

Binay issued this statement after the MMDA said over the weekend that it will now require motorcycle riders to paint their license plate numbers on their helmets. Earlier, the MMDA said it will ban public assemblies, parades, funeral marches and similar activities on national roads.

“The Supreme Court has spoken clearly on the extent of the MMDA’s powers. The agency has no power to legislate. Only the city or municipal councils of the local governments have that power. Chairman Fernando may not like it, but it is the law. As public officials, we should set the example by obeying the law,” Binay said.

Furthermore;

“The power to pass local laws, including laws governing traffic, belongs to the local legislative councils of the local governments. The MMC is a policy making body of the MMDA, which in turn, is a coordinating agency for Metro Manila based on the high tribunal’s ruling,” he said (Read full article)

My take:

I am no legal and expert in this domain but all I can humbly say is that, as far as I know, in the premise of urban planning and management, one of the standard procedures of practice before putting up a policy into full implementation is to conduct statistically rational policy scenario analyses and simulations. We often call it the what-if-scenario analyses. That is, in the computing science, you have the option to pick an experimental domain (say, a city) to test a policy and afterwards, perform the necessary impacts evaluation and assessment. From that, you will have both the theoretical and practical sides of the coin to formulate appropriate concluding remarks.