The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Monday stressed that the recent order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ban the use of sirens by unauthorized vehicles is pivotal for instilling road courtesy and discipline and eventually the safety of all road users.

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II said that in line with the President’s Administrative Order (AO) 18, he instructed all regional directors to coordinate with the offices of various government agencies in their respective areas for the mandatory removal of sirens, blinkers and similar devices attached to vehicles that are not authorized to use them.

Mendoza said the coordination would pave the way for the accounting of government-owned and private motor vehicles owned by government employees and officials that have sirens, blinkers and other similar devices but are not included in the list of those allowed to use them under the AO 18.

“I take this opportunity to appeal to our fellow government workers to voluntarily remove these gadgets in compliance with the directive of our Chief Executive, President Marcos,” Mendoza said.

“We don’t want to come to the point we will apprehend violators as the Department of Transportation, headed by Secretary Jaime Bautista, ordered us to strictly implement the order of our President,” he added.

Under Section 1 of the AO, all government officials and personnel are prohibited from utilizing sirens, blinkers, and other similar gadgets that produce exceptionally loud or startling sound, including dome lights, blinkers, or other similar signaling or flashing devices.

“Unauthorized and improper use of signaling or flashing devices by government officials and employees shall be dealt with in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations,” the AO read.

Under Section 2, it stated that sirens, blinkers, and other similar devices shall not be used unless in clearly appropriate circumstances, and only by motor vehicles designated for official use by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police, fire trucks, hospital ambulances and other emergency vehicles.

“In this light, all government officials and personnel are hereby reminded that use of sirens, dome lights, blinkers, and other similar devices shall only be under exigent or emergency circumstances or situations or to ensure the expedient and safe passage of emergency responders,” it said.