A Bohol provincial board member has filed a measure requiring all motorcycle riders across the province to wear standard protective helmets, citing continued lapses in road safety despite existing national law.
3rd District Board Member Dionisio Joseph Balite filed the proposed ordinance Tuesday during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, presided over by Vice Gov. Nicanor Besas, with Senior Board Member Tita Baja serving as floor leader.
The measure would require both motorcycle drivers and back riders to wear standard protective helmets throughout Bohol’s towns and cities.
Balite said motorcycles remain one of the most common modes of transportation for residents commuting to work, school and markets, but said that convenience should not come at the cost of safety. He said some riders continue to travel without helmets or with non-standard, improperly secured gear despite existing regulations.
He pointed to Tagbilaran City’s own helmet ordinance, enacted in 2023, as a model for a uniform, province-wide policy. Balite said the proposal is intended primarily to protect lives rather than to penalize riders, noting that motorcycle accidents can have lasting effects on families and communities.
The ordinance passed first reading and was referred to the SP Committee on Peace and Order and Public Safety for further review and public consultation.
1st District Board Member Benjie Arcamo pushed back on the proposal, noting that a national mandate already exists under Republic Act 10054, the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009, which requires standard helmets for all motorcycle drivers and back riders nationwide.
ROAD SAFETY
Meanwhile, the local government of Lila is moving to tighten road safety measures following the deaths of the town’s municipal administrator and her husband in a highway crash last week.
Mayor Arturo Jed Piollo ordered flags at the municipal hall lowered to half-mast in mourning for Emma Saletrero Cahiles, 69, the town’s municipal administrator and a resident of Purok 4, Poblacion. Her husband, Nemencio Boiser Cahiles, 73, also died from injuries sustained in the crash.
Piollo said the couple were on their way to a grandchild’s birthday celebration when the accident occurred, calling it a major loss for the local government.
In response, Piollo coordinated with the Department of Public Works and Highways’ 3rd Engineering District to add road signage along the national highway in Lila and to replace damaged concrete parapet barriers with stronger ones.
He also called for a review of the 50-kph speed limit enforced on the DPWH-controlled stretch of highway, saying the municipality is prepared to enforce its own speed ordinance from boundary to boundary using a speed gun once jurisdictional issues are resolved.
The crash occurred around 6 p.m. Aug. 8 in Barangay Poblacion. Authorities said a white Isuzu van driven by Joberth John Maldo Palomera, 21, was traveling from Tagbilaran City to Malinao East when the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel.
The van struck a parked green Suzuki Multicab, then collided with a concrete barrier and a black Toyota Vios. The barrier collapsed, and Cahiles was struck by falling debris.
The couple were taken to Dimiao Infirmary, where Emma Cahiles was declared dead. Nemencio Cahiles was referred to a hospital in Tagbilaran City for further treatment but later died.