Fines for violation of amendments to Motorcycle Crime Act lowered

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FINES and penalties for violations of the provisions of the proposed amendments to the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act were lowered “to more reasonable levels,” making the measure “more equitable and just” while maintaining its real purpose of enhancing public safety.

These were among the salient features of the proposed amendments to the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act after the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report in last Monday’s plenary session.

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, principal author and sponsor of the amendments, said the other revisions introduced in the law were doing away with two license plates for motorcycles after lawmakers considered the backlog in plate numbers from the Land Transportation Office.

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“It is better that all motorcycles have plate numbers in terms of true crime prevention than none at all. The backlog in plate numbers is around 9 million. If we approve the two license plates, that will be 18 million. We would rather have all motorcycles with rear plate numbers than no plate numbers,” Ejercito said in a Viber message to reporters.

Ejercito said it was also agreed that radio frequency identification (RFID) stickers will not be required of motorcycles.

He said motorcycle dealers who fail to register sold motorcycles to the LTO will be meted a fine of P5,000. The penalty and fine for such violation under RA 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act was imprisonment ranging from arresto mayor (one month and one day to six months) to prision correccional (six months and one day to six years) or a fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P50,000, or both.

Ejercito said driving a motorcycle without a number plate or a readable number plate would merit a fine of P5,000, or a fine of P50,000 to P100,000, or imprisonment, or both under RA 11235.

Motorcycle owners who fail to report lost plate numbers within 72 hours will be fined not more than P5,000. The fine under RA 11235 ranged from P20,000 to P50,000.

Motorcycle owners who fail to report within three days stolen or damaged number plates will be fined P10,000, from the present penalty of arresto mayor or prision correccional, while tampering with, forging, imitating, or concealing a number plate will mean imprisonment of 6 months to one day up to 2 years, and a fine of not more than P10,000, or both.

The intentional use of tampered, forged, imitated, and concealed number plates will be punished with imprisonment of 6 months and one day, to 2 years, and a fine of not more than P10,000, or both. The same punishment applies to the intentional selling of motorcycles with erased, tampered, altered, and forged, or imitated number plates.

The use of stolen number plates carries a fine of not more than P20,000, from the present penalty of prison mayor (six years to 12 years), and a fine of P50,000 to P100,000, or both.

It is required that “in case of original sale,” the dealer, authorized by the owner, registers the motorcycle with the LTO within five working days while owners who have sold their motorcycles must report this in person or online to the LTO within five working days.

The new owner of the motorcycle will process the transfer of ownership within 20 working days, which will also require the LTO to issue the corresponding certificate within two working days after the new owner has submitted the complete documents.

Dealers should report to the LTO each time they repossess a motorcycle. The LTO will then revert its registration to the name of the dealer and record it in its system as under storage to avoid incurring a penalty.

Dealers are required to submit to the LTO a yearly report on the status of all repossessed motorcycles under their custody.

“For purposes of this act, the term ‘dealer’ includes those engaged in the practice of ‘buy and sell.’”

Ejercito said it was also contained in the ratified bicam report that the LTO has up to June 30, 2026 to produce, release, and issue the number plates. The penal provisions of the proposed measure will take effect on the same date.

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