Are you planning to purchase a car sooner or later? You might want to consider building or acquiring your own garage first as a bill requiring motor vehicle owners to have their own parking space before enabling them to buy a car and register it to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has been filed again in the 19th Congress.
In 2015, House Bill 5098 otherwise known as the Proof-of-Parking Space Act, was passed in the House of Representatives by former Valenzuela First District Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian. According to the bill, anyone who intends to buy a new car and register it to the LTO, shall show a proof of parking space or garage ownership beforehand. The measure aims to address the traffic congestion in Metro Manila and instill order and discipline as secondary roads where vehicles were parked along them made it hard for other vehicles to pass through.
The proposed bill would suspend the owner’s ability to register a car in his name for three years and remove their motor vehicle registration if they made false representations about their vehicle. Each offense will also result in a P50,000 fine.
In 2016, the concept was raised again by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian in his Senate Bill No. 201 or the Proof-of-Parking Space Act. Senator Joel Villanueva’s Senate Bill No. 1165, often known as the No Garage, No Car Act of 2016, which was submitted on September 20 of the same year, reiterated this legislative idea. The second measure establishes this requirement for car buyers in 12 metropolitan centers of the Philippines, although the original bill only called for imposition in Metro Manila.
In 2019, Gatchalian refiled the bill in the senate which is also known as Senate Bill No. 368 or Proof of Parking Space Act. As per the bill individuals or businesses based in Metro Manila will only be permitted to purchase vehicles after signing an affidavit attesting that they have secured a parking place for the vehicle they wish to purchase, either through purchase or lease. Gatchalian said that the bill is necessary and closely aligns with previous President Duterte’s aim of easing the ongoing problems of the commuting public.
Just recently, Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, filed House Bill No. 31, which mandates car buyers in the urban centers to have their own parking area before they can register their vehicles to the LTO. According to Velasco, “When roads become parking lots, there will be longer trip times and increased vehicular queuing.” He said that the bill will “deter the proliferation of vehicles occupying the roadsides or sidewalks.”
Velasco also added that traffic congestion was “prevalent” in several metropolitan areas identified by the National Economic and Development Authority as Metro Manila, Angeles, Cebu, Bacolod, Baguio, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Naga, and Olongapo.
Further, the LTO will be required to check if people registering their vehicles have complied with the requirement. Failure to do so will result in a three-month suspension without pay for an LTO employee.
Meanwhile, owners of motor vehicles that register without the necessary parking space will have their registration cancelled. They will also face a three-year ban from registering any vehicles with the LTO in addition to a P50,000 penalty.
To ensure the roadworthiness of vehicles and the safety of drivers, annual LTO registration is now deemed compulsory.
Source: Inquirer.Net
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