QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1605)
PD 1605 was issued to grant the Metropolitan Manila Commission (MM Commission) greater authority and support to rationalize the use of roads and to penalize traffic violators, in response to alarming traffic congestion in Metro Manila. It cites the mandate of PD 824 (as amended by PD 1274) to establish and operate a transport and traffic center and to act as a central body for services common to the area.
Section 1 grants the MM Commission the power to impose fines and discipline drivers and operators of motor vehicles for violations of traffic laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations in Metro Manila, in amounts and penalties prescribed by the Decree. It also transfers to the MM Commission the powers of the Land Transportation Commission and the Board of Transportation over such violations and punishment.
When the penalty is suspension or revocation of a driver's license (or certificate of public convenience), the MM Commission or its representatives shall suspend or revoke the license or certificate. The suspended or revoked driver's license or the report of suspension/revocation of the certificate of public convenience must be sent to the Land Transportation Commission or the Board of Transportation for record updates, as applicable.
Section 2 provides that operators of public utility motor vehicles, or owners of private motor vehicles (and their attachments, if any), that stall on public roads, streets, or thoroughfares in Metro Manila shall pay a fine of Two Hundred Pesos (P200.00) to the MM Commission through the city or municipal treasurer of the locality where the vehicles stalled.
The treasurer is directed to allocate portions of the collection to the local government units (LGUs) of Metro Manila, to be used exclusively for traffic management and control activities in that particular local government.
In addition to the P200.00 fine, a towing fee may be imposed in amounts determined by the MM Commission. This towing fee shall be paid to the treasurer of the city or municipality where the vehicles are impounded.
Section 3 imposes graduated fines and sanctions reckoned from the date of birth of the licensee: P10.00 for the first offense, P20.00 for the second, P50.00 for the third; a one-year suspension of the driver's license for the fourth; and revocation of the driver's license for the fifth offense. The MM Commission may impose higher penalties for violations of its ordinances regulating or prohibiting the use of certain roads.
It provides that payment of the cited fines shall not relieve the offender from any civil or criminal liability arising from death, physical injury, or damage to property.
If uncontested, fines are paid either to the city or municipal treasurer of the locality where the offense occurred, or to the Philippine National Bank (PNB) or Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) and their branches. These treasurers and banks must immediately transfer all collections to the MM Commission, which holds the fund and allocates it exclusively for traffic management and control activities.
The driver's license shall not be confiscated. Instead, the erring driver must be immediately issued a traffic citation ticket that states the violation, the amount of the fine, and that the driver may pay within seven days from issuance at the city/municipal treasurer or PNB/PVB.
If the offender fails to pay within the prescribed period, the MM Commission or the law-enforcement agency concerned must endorse the case to the proper fiscal for proceedings preparatory to filing the case with the competent traffic court or city/municipal court.
When a driver renews his driver's license and the records show an unpaid fine, the driver's license shall not be renewed until the fine and corresponding surcharges are paid.
Section 6 states that the PC METROCOM, the Metropolitan Police Force, and the Constabulary Highway Patrol Group shall assist the MM Commission in enforcing and carrying out PD 1605.
Section 7 provides that the MM Commission shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the proper and effective implementation of PD 1605.
Yes. Section 8 provides that insofar as Metro Manila is concerned, all laws, decrees, orders, ordinances, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with PD 1605 are repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 9 states that it shall take effect immediately.
It means that in Metro Manila, the MM Commission becomes the authority to impose fines and discipline for traffic law/ordinance violations and to carry out punishment mechanisms previously under the Land Transportation Commission and the Board of Transportation for such violations. It consolidates traffic enforcement and penalty administration under the MM Commission.