Motorists issued warnings at Comelec checkpoints as election period starts

A number of motorists were issued warnings for violations of public health safety protocols, as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) put up checkpoints across the country with the start of the election period.

Among the violations recorded in several checkpoints are the lack of helmets for motorcycle riders, those without their driver’s license, curfew violators, and those without face masks.

The checkpoints were set up across the country 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, January 9, along with a gun ban which will take effect for 150 calendar days until June 8, 2022.

“Para masigurado natin na mabantayan natin ang ating mga kababayan, magkaroon tayo ng mapayapa at matiwasay na eleksyon ngayong taon,” an official said in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

[This is to ensure the safety of our countrymen and that we have peaceful elections.]

Motorists are advised that they do not need to alight their vehicles once they pass the checkpoints. They are only advised to slow down, lower the windows, turn on their cabin lights, and dim their headlights.

Under Comelec rules, a checkpoint is mandated to be put up in every city or municipality in coordination with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News