Republic of the Philippines Congress of the Philippines Metro Manila Seventeenth Congress Third Regular Session Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand eighteen.
AN ACT PREVENTING AND PENALIZING THE USE OF MOTORCYCLES IN THE COMMISSION OF CRIMES BY REQUIRING BIGGER, READABLE AND COLOR-CODED NUMBER PLATES AND IDENTIFICATION MARKS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
is hereby declared the policy of the State to secure and safeguard its citizenry from crimes committed with the use of motorcycles through bigger, readable and color-coded number plates and identification marks.
Backrider refers to any person or persons seated at the back of a motorcycle, or a passenger of a motorcycle;
Driver refers to any person driving or controlling a motorcycle;
Motorcycle refers to a powered two (2) or three (3)-wheeled motor vehicle, including, but not limited to, scooters, mopeds, and motorcycles with appendages such as sidecars, tricycles, or trikes. This shall include government-owned vehicles;
Owner refers to any person who owns or is the registered owner of a motorcycle. Under this Act, it also refers to any person who has actual control and possession of a motorcycle, whether it is registered or not; and
Number plate refers to the regular motor vehicle license plate issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for a motorcycle, bearing the standard alphanumeric characters in accordance with Republic Act No. 4136, as amended, otherwise known as the “Land Transportation and Traffic Code”.
(P20,000.00) but not more than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00), or both. If a motorcycle that is not yet registered with the LTO is used in connection with an offense punishable under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws, the maximum penalty of the relevant offense shall be imposed on the offenders.
The LTO shall also devise a color scheme of the readable number plates for every region in the Philippines where a motorcycle is registered for quick and easy identification. The readable number plates must be displayed in both the front and back sides of a motorcycle and shall be made of suitable and durable material as determined by the LTO. The utilization of voluntary and paid labor from prisoners shall be among the requirements to bid for the procurement of the number plates under this Act.
of motorcycles, the LTO shall observe at all times Republic Act No. 10173 or the "Data Privacy Act of 2012".
A motorcycle driven without a number plate or a readable number plate shall be stopped, and such motorcycle shall be seized by law enforcers and immediately surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP). Any apprehension must be reported immediately to the LTO, PNP and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) through the Joint LTO and PNP Operations and Control Center. The owner of such motorcycle may redeem his or her seized motorcycle from the LTO upon proof of ownership, payment of the costs of seizure, and compliance with a number plate or readable number plate.
In cases wherein there is loss of, or damage to, the motorcycle in the custody of the said officer in violation of this section, the said law enforcement officer shall also be held monetarily liable for the full worth of the motorcycle lost or the cost of repairs for the damage caused to the motorcycle in question. Furthermore, any LTO officer, PNP officer or any deputized law enforcement personnel shall be held criminally, administratively and monetarily liable for using an impounded vehicle.
If a motorcycle is used in the commission of a crime constituting a less grave felony or light felony under the Revised Penal Code or any other crime, or in the escape from the scene of such crime, regardless of the stage of commission whether attempted, frustrated, or consummated, the owner, driver, backrider or passenger who participated in the same shall be punished by prision correccional to prision mayor, as provided under the Revised Penal Code. If a seized motorcycle is used in the commission of a crime, the maximum penalty of the relevant crime or offense shall be imposed. If death or serious physical injuries, as defined under the Revised Penal Code, results from the unlawful use of a motorcycle in the commission of a crime, the penalty of reclusion perpetua as provided under the Revised Penal Code shall be imposed.
in a secured impounding center provided by the LGU until the termination of the case. Such motorcycle shall then be forfeited in favor of the government, unless the court finds that the defendant is not guilty of the offense charged or such motorcycle belongs to an innocent third party. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall ensure and enforce that all LGUs set aside land and establish a secured impounding center that shall be under the control of the PNP to store the impounded motorcycles in accordance with this Act. They shall also have a computerized/digitized data to see to it that all impounded or released motorcycles are duly recorded and such data shall be shared on a real-time basis to the Joint PNP and LTO Operations and Control Center.
However, if the lost, damaged, or stolen number plate or readable number plate is used in connection with an offense penalized under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws, the failure of the owner to report within three (3) days that the motorcycle is lost, damaged, or stolen, shall subject the owner to a penalty of imprisonment of arresto mayor to prision correccional.
concealed number plate or readable number plate, under this Act shall be punished by prision mayor as provided under the Revised Penal Code, or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or both. If a person knowingly sells or buys an erased, tampered, altered, forged or imitated number plate or readable number plate, both such buyer and seller shall be punished by prision mayor as provided under the Revised Penal Code. However, if the person who sells or buys the number plate proves that he or she has no knowledge that it was erased, tampered, altered, forged or imitated, he or she shall be punished by arresto mayor.
Furthermore, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) shall not allow the importation into the country of motorcycles, as defined under Section 3(c) of this Act, whose design will impede the placement of the required number plate on the front and back sides of the motorcycles firmly and securely. Any motorcycle which does not have any capability to bear and showcase the required readable number plate shall not be allowed to be registered with the LTO.
LTO and PNP Operations and Control Center that shall be operational and accessible real-time, twenty-four (24) hours a day and seven (7) days a week, to facilitate the implementation of this Act. It shall be equipped with the latest available technology and adequate computers and software sufficient to immediately address any emergency or inquiry. The LTO and the PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) shall establish a hotline to specifically address concerns related to crimes or offenses committed with the use of motorcycles. The Joint PNP and LTO Operations and Control Center shall be under the supervision of the DICT.
The Oversight Committee shall review the penalties herein imposed and shall adjust the same accordingly if deemed necessary.
Approved, This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1397 and House Bill No. 8419 was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on December 13, 2018 and January 14, 2019, respectively. DANTE ROBERTO P. MALING Acting Secretary General House of Representatives MYRA MARIE D. VILLARICA Secretary of the Senate Approved: MAR 08 2019 RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE President of the Philippines