The Bacolod City government is developing comprehensive policies to regulate the operations of electric bicycles (e-bikes) and tricycles (e-trikes) in all its 61 villages.

On Friday, May 31, the 30-day moratorium on the apprehension and issuance of citation tickets for unregistered e-vehicles continued upon the directive of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.

“[This is] to provide the necessary time to develop a comprehensive regulation and pending the amendment of pertinent city ordinances relating to e-bike/e-trike operations,” the mayor said in a memorandum addressed to Patrick Lacson, officer-in-charge of the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office.

Benitez’s order extends the earlier moratorium that should have ended on May 24, after requiring all concerned villages to submit a list of the accredited e-vehicle operators for the issuance of the authority to operate.

He earlier said the city aims to finalize the list which will serve as the basis for the issuance of temporary licenses or permits for e-vehicles that are color-coded for easy identification.

Benitez also reminded the village chiefs to abide by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular 2020-036, which prohibits tricycles, pedicabs, and motorized pedicabs from operating on national highways.

In an earlier statement, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said that in cases where there are no alternative routes available and as a last resort, local government units (LGUs), through their respective councils, may issue an exception.

This is in compliance with the Land Transportation Office’s Memorandum Circular 94-199 issued in 1994, which sets the guidelines on the devolution of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s franchising power over tricycles-for-hire to LGUs, pursuant to the Local Government Code. (PNA)