Pangasinan: Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino is calling for stricter enforcement of a provincial ordinance mandating drivers and passengers of motorcycles, tricycles, golf carts, and similar vehicles to wear high-visibility reflective vests or luminous-colored garments when traveling along Pangasinan roads between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
According to Philippines News Agency, the directive is outlined in Provincial Ordinance No. 325-2024, approved on July 1, 2024, and implemented beginning Aug. 1 of the same year. It also requires passengers to comply with the reflective gear requirement. The ordinance specifies that if motorcycle riders or passengers carry backpacks or have rear top boxes that may obstruct the visibility of their vests or garments, similar reflective materials should be attached to these items.
Lambino noted that enforcement has weakened due to a lack of citation tickets and reduced monitoring during the election period. He mentioned that the enforcement had been lax and there was a shortage of citation tickets released to deputized authorities. With the election season over, he expressed hope that local government units would strictly implement the ordinance once more.
The provincial government is considering the creation of a violation receipt system, enabling the provincial government, not just local government units, to issue citation tickets to deputized authorities for various ordinance violations, including traffic infractions.
From January to June 2024, Pangasinan police recorded 853 road accidents, resulting in 108 deaths and 387 injuries. Motorcycle and tricycle riders accounted for the majority of the incidents. Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 6, 2024, 506 violators were fined, and 14,207 were warned, with most violators from Lingayen, Bayambang, San Fabian, Dagupan, and Alaminos. The fines collected amounted to PHP126,400.
Penalties under the ordinance range from a warning for the first offense to a PHP5,000 fine or up to one year of imprisonment for the fourth offense, at the discretion of the court.
