The internet is rife with videos of roadside drama often between MMDAs trying to tow a vehicle (or vehicles) and the vehicle’s owners. The reason? Illegal parking.
An unattended and illegally parked vehicle will be towed by the MMDA right away. A 5-minute window and maybe a few honks from the tow truck driver to try and call the attention of the car owner is all that is given as allowance or consideration during road clearing operations. If the car owner does not get into his vehicle and vacate his illegal parking space, the MMDA staff will simply haul the car away. This scenario often happens in thickly populated residential areas and roads where buildings and establishments have very limited parking spaces.
Illegal parking, especially in residential areas, shall hopefully soon be completely addressed in Metro Manila if House Bill No. 31 becomes a law.
What is House Bill No. 31?
You may want to sit down for this because the bill’s official name is pretty long:
An Act Requiring Parking Space From Motor Vehicle Buyers in Metropolitan Areas as a Pre-requisite for the Purchase of a Motor Vehicle and Registration with the Land Transportation Office.
Whew.
It was filed by Congressman Lord Allan Velasco.
The Details of the Bill:
A person who intends to buy a car or a motorcycle must be able to present proof that he or she has ample and permanent parking space for the vehicle. The proof shall be in the form of a notarized affidavit which will be filed at the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Your neighbors, or simply just a passerby, may report you to the LTO, MMDA, or to the city hall if they see you parking illegally along roads and alleyways and not in your garage or parking space as declared in your affidavit. Likewise, the LTO, MMDA, and LGU representatives will also conduct random checks to be sure that all vehicles are properly parked in designated areas.
Penalties
Since your parking space is essentially documented, the fine for illegal parking will then be steeper than the normal tow charges. If the bill is passed into law, illegal parking shall also constitute fraudulent claims of owning a parking space. The fine for such offense is a whopping Php 50,000!
Apart from the fine, your LTO registration will also be revoked and you will be prohibited from registering new cars for three years. (Hello, LRT!)
So, given all these facts that we have so far, how soon would you like for House Bill 31 to officially become a law? Let us know your thoughts.
Reference:
MasterCitizen's Blog 