Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act Summary

Policy, constitutional anchor, intent

The State policy under Section 2 is to secure and safeguard the citizenry from crimes committed with the use of motorcycles through bigger, readable and color-coded number plates and identification marks.
The policy is anchored on Article II, Section 5 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution regarding peace and order, protection of life, liberty and property, and promotion of the general welfare (Section 2).

Key definitions

“Backrider” means any person or persons seated at the back of a motorcycle, or a passenger of a motorcycle (Section 3).
“Driver” means any person driving on controlling a motorcycle (Section 3).
“Motorcycle” means a powered two (2) or three (3)-wheeled motor vehicle, including scooters, mopeds, and motorcycles with appendages such as sidecars, tricycles or trikes, and it includes government-owned vehicles (Section 3(c)).
“Owner” means any person who owns or is the registered owner of a motorcycle, and also any person who has actual control and possession of a motorcycle, whether registered or not (Section 3(d)).
“Number plate” means the regular motor vehicle license plate issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for a motorcycle, bearing standard alphanumeric characters in accordance with Republic Act No. 4136, as amended, otherwise known as the “Land Transportation and Traffic Code” (Section 3(e)).

Registration and compliance duties

The owner of a motorcycle must register the motorcycle with the LTO within five (5) days from acquisition of ownership (Section 4).
The owner must immediately report any sale or disposition of the motorcycle to the LTO (Section 4).
Failure to register within five (5) days from acquisition, or failure to immediately report sale or disposition, subjects the owner to imprisonment of arresto mayor to prison correccional as defined under the Revised Penal Code, or a fine of not less than PHP 20,000.00 but not more than PHP 50,000.00, or both (Section 4).
If a motorcycle 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 is imposed on the offenders (Section 4).

Number plates: size, readability, color scheme

The LTO shall issue a readable number plate for every motorcycle (Section 5).
The LTO shall determine in the Act’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) the font style and size of the bigger, readable and color-coded number plates (Section 5).
The contents of the number plates must be readable from the front, back, and side of the motorcycle from a distance of at least fifteen (15) meters (Section 5).
The LTO must devise a color scheme for readable number plates for every region in the Philippines where a motorcycle is registered for quick and easy identification (Section 5).
The readable number plates must be displayed on both the front and back sides and must be made of suitable and durable material as determined by the LTO (Section 5).
Utilization of voluntary and paid labor from prisoners shall be among the requirements to bid for the procurement of the number plates (Section 5).

Prohibitions and penalties for plate violations

Driving without a number plate or readable number plate is prohibited (Section 7).
The driver of a motorcycle without a number plate or readable number plate is punished by prison correccional as provided in the Revised Penal Code, or a fine of not less than PHP 50,000.00 but not more than PHP 100,000.00, or both (Section 7).
Law enforcers must stop the motorcycle and seize it if the driver has no number plate or readable number plate (Section 7).
Seized motorcycles must be immediately surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP) (Section 7).
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 (Section 7).
The owner may redeem a seized motorcycle from the LTO by proving ownership, paying the costs of seizure, and complying with a number plate or readable number plate requirement (Section 7).
Failure in surrender seized motorcycle: any seized motorcycle must be reported immediately to the LTO and PNP through the Joint Operations Center and surrendered within twenty-four (24) hours to the local impounding center provided by the LGU (Section 8).
Any law enforcer who fails to report or surrender a seized motorcycle within twenty-four (24) hours is punished by prison correccional as defined under the Revised Penal Code, without prejudice to administrative charges (Section 8).
A law enforcement officer who causes loss of or damage to a motorcycle in custody in violation of the Act is held monetarily liable for the full worth of the motorcycle lost or the cost of repairs for damage (Section 8).
LTO officers, PNP officers, or deputized law enforcement personnel are held criminally, administratively and monetarily liable for using an impounded vehicle (Section 8).

Motorcycle use in crimes; penalties, death/injury

When a motorcycle is used in the commission of a crime constituting a grave felony under the Revised Penal Code, or in escape from the scene of such crime (whether attempted, frustrated, or consummated), the owner, driver, backrider, or passenger who participated is punished by reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua as provided under the Revised Penal Code (Section 9).
When 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 escape from the scene of such crime (whether attempted, frustrated, or consummated), the participating owner, driver, backrider, or passenger is punished by prison correccional or prison mayor, as provided under the Revised Penal Code (Section 9).
If a seized motorcycle is used in the commission of a crime, the maximum penalty of the relevant crime or offense is imposed (Section 9).
If death or serious physical injuries (as defined under the Revised Penal Code) result from unlawful use of a motorcycle in the commission of a crime, the penalty of reclusion perpetua is imposed (Section 9).

Impoundment, forfeiture, and LGU centers

A motorcycle used in the commission of a crime or offense must be impounded by the PNP as evidence in custodio legis in a secured impounding center provided by the LGU until termination of the case (Section 10).
After termination of the case, the motorcycle is forfeited in favor of the government, unless the court finds the defendant not guilty of the offense charged or the motorcycle belongs to an innocent third party (Section 10).
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) must ensure and enforce that all LGUs set aside land and establish a secured impounding center under the control of the PNP to store impounded motorcycles in accordance with the Act (Section 10).
LGUs and the PNP must maintain computerized/digitized data so that all impounded or released motorcycles are duly recorded.
The digitized data must be shared on a real-time basis to the Joint PNP and LTO Operations and Control Center (Section 10).

Loss, damage, theft of plates; reporting

If the number plate or readable number plate of a motorcycle is lost, damaged, or stolen, the owner must immediately report it to the LTO and PNP through the Joint LTO and PNP Operations and Control Center and request a replacement number plate (Section 11).
Failure to report results in a fine of not less than PHP 20,000.00 but not more than PHP 50,000.00 (Section 11).
If the lost, damaged, or stolen plate is used in the commission of an offense penalized under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws, failure to report within three (3) days subjects the owner to imprisonment of arresto mayor or prison correccional (Section 11).

Tampering, forging, imitating, concealing plates

Erasing, tampering, altering, forging, imitating, covering, or concealing a number plate or readable number plate, or intentionally using such concealed or altered plate, is punished by prison mayor as provided under the Revised Penal Code, or a fine of not less than PHP 50,000.00 but not more than PHP 100,000.00, or both (Section 12).
If a person knowingly sells or buys an erased, tampered, altered, forged, or imitated number plate or readable number plate, both buyer and seller are punished by prison mayor as provided under the Revised Penal Code (Section 12).
If the person who sells or buys proves no knowledge that the plate was erased, tampered, altered, forged, or imitated, the person is punished by arresto mayor (Section 12).

Use of stolen plates

The use of a stolen number plate or readable number plate is punished by prison mayor as provided under the Revised Penal Code, or a fine of not less than PHP 50,000.00 but not more than PHP 100,000.00, or both at the discretion of the court (Section 13).

Sale/import restrictions; registration condition

No person, whether natural or juridical, may sell motorcycles unless the motorcycles have the capability to bear and showcase a readable number plate required under Section 5 (Section 14).
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) may not allow importation of motorcycles whose design will impede the placement of the required number plate on the front and back sides firmly and securely (Section 14).
A motorcycle that does not have capability to bear and showcase the required readable plate is not allowed to be registered with the LTO (Section 14).

LTO–PNP Operations and Control Center

The LTO and PNP shall establish a Joint LTO and PNP Operations and Control Center operational and accessible real-time twenty-four (24) hours a day and seven (7) days a week to facilitate implementation of the Act (Section 15).
The Center must be equipped with the latest available technology and adequate computers and software sufficient to immediately address any emergency or inquiry (Section 15).
The LTO and the PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) shall establish a hotline to address concerns related to crimes or offenses committed with the use of motorcycles (Section 15).
The Joint Center is under the supervision of the DICT (Section 15).

Registry and data privacy compliance

The LTO shall maintain a registry of motorcycles in a database to facilitate information retrieval for official investigation and law enforcement purposes (Section 6).
The registry includes, among others, the motorcycle owner’s name, the owner’s driver’s license number, address and contact details, motorcycle identification number, plate number, motorcycle body color, and motorcycle brand/make (Section 6).
The LTO shall observe Republic Act No. 10173 on the Data Privacy Act of 2012 in the registry at all times (Section 6).

Funding and implementing rules

Section 16 appropriates an initial funding of PHP 150,000,000.00 for implementation of the Act to be included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Subsequent funding shall also be included in the GAA (Section 16).
The LTO, in consultation with law enforcement and other relevant agencies, must promulgate the IRR within a non-extendible period of ninety (90) days from effectivity (Section 17).

Congressional oversight; penalty adjustment power

Section 18 creates a Congressional Oversight Committee on the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act to review and assess implementation.
The Committee has five (5) members from the Senate and five (5) members from the House of Representatives, co-chaired by the Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Justice and House Committee on Transportation (Section 18).
Oversight is conducted yearly beginning one (1) year after effectivity and thereafter as determined by the Oversight Committee (Section 18).
The Oversight Committee shall review the penalties imposed and adjust them accordingly when deemed necessary (Section 18).

Transition to new plates; June 30 and December 31

Motorcycle owners with number plates not in conformity must renew registration and apply for the required readable number plate not later than June 30, 2019 (Section 19).
The LTO is given until December 31, 2019 to produce, release, and issue number plates required by the Act (Section 19).
After December 31, 2019, the penal provisions regarding use of bigger, readable and color-coded number plates take effect (Section 19).

Repeal, separability, and publication effectivity

All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances, or parts inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly (Section 20).
If any portion or provision is declared unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act remains in force (Section 21).