PAGADIAN
CITY, Feb. 20 (PIA) - - Unscrupulous individuals have attempted to sabotage the
implementation of the “Motorcycle Helmet Act” by peddling Import Commodity
Clearance (ICC) stickers not assigned for motorcycle protective helmets.
Provincial
Director Ma. Socorro M. Atay of the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI)-Zamboanga del Sur provincial office told a group of media men in a recent
press conference that her office was able to confiscate ICC stickers being sold
at P200.00 each to motorcycle helmet owners.
Atay
claimed that these ICC stickers were not fake; only these were assigned for
imported ceramic tiles.
Republic
Act No. 10054 otherwise known as Motorcycle Helmet Act has required all
motorcycle riders, including drivers and back riders, to wear standard
protective motorcycle helmets while driving in any type of road and highway.
Standard
motorcycle helmets are appropriate types of helmets for motorcycle riders that
comply with the specifications issued by DTI.
With
this, all manufacturers and importers of standard protective motorcycle helmets
are required to secure a PS license or ICC prior to the sale and distribution
of their products.
Under
RA 10054, only motorcycle helmets bearing PS or ICC mark shall be sold in the
market.
According
to Atay, anybody caught to have tampered with the PS mark or ICC certificates
in the helmets will be fined from P10,000 to P20,000 other than the penalties
imposed under the “Consumer Act of the Philippines.”
“Always
bear in mind that you’re not safe using a helmet with fake PS mark or ICC
sticker,” declared the DTI provincial director. (FPG/PIA9)