FALSE: Bicycle registration required starting February 2021

At a glance:

• Claim: A graphic that circulated on Facebook in February 2021 said that bicycle registration is now required.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: The original article where the graphic came from was only about an ordinance in Cebu City, which has been suspended since June 2020 due to the pandemic. The original article was also released in June.
• Why we fact-checked this: Posts containing this claim were being shared on Facebook by different accounts and pages. As of writing, these posts had over 17,100 interactions, according to data from CrowdTangle.

Complete details:

A graphic saying “BISIKLETA IPINAPAREHISTRO” (bicycles need to be registered) circulated on Facebook in February 2021. The graphic had the logo of daily tabloid Abante Tonite.

The comments on the false post showed that people mistook the graphic to mean that the directive is being implemented nationwide. The caption and the comments also showed that people thought the implementation of bicycle registration is just a means for the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to obtain more fees from citizens.

This is false. Although Abante Tonite really reported on the topic in June 2020, the graphic was reposted and shared out of context in February 2021 by several Facebook accounts and pages.

The original Abante Tonite article was published on June 6, 2020, and was only pertaining to the registration of bicycles in Cebu City. The city government also suspended the ordinance shortly after the article was published.

Meanwhile, the LTO only requires accredited importers, dealers, or owners to register their motor vehicles. Bicycles are not included.

In 1973, the Cebu City local government passed Cebu City Ordinance No. 801 or the Traffic Code of Cebu City. This includes a provision requiring registration of bicycles in the city, but this was not strictly implemented before because bicycles were not frequently used then.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella temporarily suspended the registration of bicycles on June 6, 2020, through Executive Order No. 80. This decision came after the city imposed quarantine restrictions due to the pandemic, which resulted in limited public transportation. The temporary suspension of bicycle registration was part of the Cebu City government’s efforts to support its residents and workers during community quarantine.

However, Labella said all persons operating or riding bicycles must still follow the other regulations under the Traffic Code of Cebu City.

The suspension of bike registration in Cebu City is only until the city remains under community quarantine. As of Monday, February 15, the Cebu City Transportation Office said in a message to Rappler that the registration of bicycles is still suspended. The city is currently under modified general community quarantine.

The posts containing this false claim circulated in the first and second weeks of February. It was spotted by the Rappler team on Facebook. As of writing, the posts had over 12,000 combined shares, 3,800 reactions, and 1,300 comments. – Owenh Toledo/Rappler.com

This article was written by a volunteer of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program, a 5-week exclusive and hands-on training on detecting, investigating, and verifying online misinformation and disinformation.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one fact check at a time.