Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles insisted that tricycles are not allowed to operate during the community quarantine period in Luzon.
During the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) press conference, Nograles explained that social distancing is very hard to implement in a tricycle because of its small size.
“Sa tricycle, let’s address that, concern talaga ang gobyerno sa paggamit ng tricycle dahil hindi namin lubos makita o maintindihan kung paano mag social distancing sa tricylce, number one,” Nograles said.
“Number two, ang concern po ng LGU ay ganyan, maari namang gumawa ng mga initiatives ang mga LGU, with regard to vehicles na hindi naman kailangan tricycle ang gamitin, so may means po ang LGU na gumamit ng other means of transportation, meron po silang sariling sasakyan o di kaya’y gumamit sila ng sasakyan ng iba at makiusap, or other means,” he added.
Nograles said that if the objective of the LGUs is to transport health workers to their destination, they should get a bigger vehicle like jeepneys, multi cabs or other four-wheel vehicles.
“Common ground rules po tayo, let’s all stick to the common ground rules, yun po ang pakiusap namin,” he said.
The cabinet secretary then reiterated that the purpose of the community quarantine is to control the movements of the people and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Hindi po ba dangerous na kung ang health workers natin ay mahahawa po at maging carrier po, at pagdating po sa health institution ay sila po ay carrier, at sila’y nag alalaga ng mga pasyente?” Nograles asked.
“Hindi po kami gumagawa sa gobyerno ng mga patakaran at mga rules dahil gusto po nating pahirapan ang ating taumbayan, ginagawa po natin itong lahat para lahat ay pantay pantay at lahat ma proteksyonan,” he said.
Yesterday, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto urged the national government to allow some of the tricycles in his city to operate and accommodate health workers and other people who are looking for medical treatment.
“Hindi na po para sa tricycle driver, para nalang po sa public health and safety dahil ako po sa risk assessment na ginawa namin kapag hindi po natin pinayagan ang mga tricycle ay mas marami po ang mmatay,” Sotto said.