Motorcycle barrier owners across the country felt their blood pressure shoot up when it was announced that the much-talked-about device will no longer be required for couples or partners living in the same residence. Not a big surprise since the policy revision did come AFTER they’ve already spent some of their hard-earned money on that device.

But, why linger on the negative when one can simply make light of the situation.. As they say, look at the bright side and be positive.

Myrnel Lipata, an online seller from Manila, bought his motorcycle barrier for P550. After the National Task Force against Covid-19’s cancelled its status as a required motorcycle back-riding device, Myrnel went ahead and looked for other ways to keep his barrier useful.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that his shopping trolley needed an upgrade.

“Instead na puro galit dahil nasayang ang pera, hanap kayo ng ibang bagay na pwedeng magawa gamit 'yung acrylic barrier. If wala kayo masyadong idea, pwede kayo manood ng mga Do-It-Yourself sa YouTube," Myrnel advised.

(Instead of getting all angry about it, think of other ways to repurpose the acrylic barrier. If you can't think of any, you may get DIY ideas on YouTube.)

Others came up with repurposing ideas that were far less helpful in the real world but definitely worth doing for the lols.

Kevin Jimera from Zamboanga was one such fellow. His contribution to the new-awesome-ways-to-use-the-motorcycle-barrier catalog is this laptop holder configuration.

"The politicians who proposed this policy and those who approved the motorcycle barrier policy are not motorcycle riders. Their intention may have been good -- to prevent the transmission of the virus -- but the policy was anti-poor. Barriers are worth P800 to P1200. That amount of money can be used for food and other needs. Then, all of a sudden they lifted the policy. What do we do then with all of these useless barriers?" Kevin asked.

Carl from Tayuman is a bit more versatile with his now almost useless motorcycle barrier.
So far, he has used it as an umbrella, a fan, and his favorite, a shield against cooking oil splatters. He is especially proud of having avoided any cooking related burns and other injuries on at least three occasions.

“Pinaka the best kapag nagpiprito. Effective talaga, walang talsik. Tapos, one time, nag brownout, nagamit kong pamaypay,” Carl said. (It is the best as protection when you are frying your food. You won’t get hit by the splattering cooking oil. And then, one time, there was a power outage, I used it as a fan to cool down.).

As Myrnel, Kevin and Carl have shown, having some imagination and a bit of humor can help in dealing with something as frustrating as this whole motorcycle barrier brouhaha.
So are you a motorcycle barrier owner who has other clever, cute or crazy repurposing ideas for this awesome device? If yes, good for you..