Duterte not supporting Cebu's plan to allow back-riding

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he could not support the Cebu government's move allowing back-riding on motorcycles in the province.

"As much as I would like to accommodate Governor [Gwendolyn] Garcia and the board members, here's what I can say. If I begin to give an exemption to one, which I cannot, because I will open myself to charges of anti-graft law, giving another an undue advantage... that's the provision there," Duterte said at a taped press briefing aired Friday morning.

"'Kapag binigyan ko kayo ng exemption, the others will follow," he added.

Reports said the local government of Cebu would allow back-riding in the province provided that they carry only one passenger per trip and that no fee would be charged.

The national government has been firm on banning back-riding on motorcycles as physical distancing is not observed when this practice is done.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año has said that although back-riding on motorcycles is cheaper and convenient, it is not safe in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. --KBK, GMA News