S. No.

1397
H. No. 8419
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B e g u n a n d h e ld in M e tr o M a n ila , o n M o n d a y , th e t w e n t y - t h ir d
d a y o f J u ly , t w o th o u s a n d e ig h te e n .

[ R epublic A ct N o . 11235 j

AN ACT PREVENTING AND PENALIZING THE USE

OF MOTORCYCLES IN THE COMMISSION OF
CRIMES BY REQUIRING BIGGER, READABLE AND
COLOR-CODED NUMBER PLATES AND
IDENTIFICATION MARKS. AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

Philippines in Congress assembled:

S e c t io n l. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as

the “Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act”.

Sec . 2. Declaration of Policy. - Article II, Section 5 of

the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the maintenance
of peace and order, the protection of hfe, hberty, and property,
and the promotion of the general welfare are essential for the
enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy. It
is hereby declared the policy of the State to secure and
safeguard its citizenry from crimes committed with the use
of motorcycles through bigger, readable and color-coded niunber
plates and identification marks.

S ec . 3. Definitions. - As used in this Act, the following

terms are defined:

(a) Backrider refers to any person or persons seated at

the back of a motorcycle, or a passenger of a motorcycle;

(b) Driver refers to any person driving or controlling a

motorcycle;

(c) Motorcycle refers to a powered two (2) or three

(3)-wheeled motor vehicle, including, but not limited to,
scooters, mopeds, and motorcycles with appendages such
as sidecars, tricycles, or trik es. This shall include
government-owned vehicles;

(d) Owner refers to any person who owns or is the

registered owner of a motorcycle. Under this Act, it also refers
to any person who has actual control and possession of a
motorcycle, whether it is registered or not; and

(e) Number plate refers to the regular motor vehicle

hcense plate issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO)
for a motorcycle, bearing the standard alphanumeric characters
in accordance with Republic Act No. 4136, as amended,
otherwise known as the “Land Transportation and Traffic
Code”.

Sec . 4. Registration by the Owner. - The owner of a

motorcycle shall register his or her motorcycle with the LTO
within five (5) days from such acquisition of ownership. The
owner of a motorcycle shall also immediately report any sale
or disposition of his or her motorcycle to the LTO. Failure
of the owner to register within five (5) days from acquisition
of ownership, or to immediately report its sale or disposition,
shall subject the owner to a penalty of imprisonment of arresto
mayor to prision correccional, as defined under the Revised
Penal Code, or a fine of not less than Twenty thousand pesos
(P20,000.00) but not more th an Fifty thousand pesos
(P50,000.00), or both.

If a motorcycle that is 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 shall be imposed on the
offenders.

S e c . 5. Bigger, Readable and Color-Coded Number

Plates. - The LTO shall issue a readable number plate for
every motorcycle. The LTO shall, in the implementing rules
and regulations (IRR) of this Act, determine the font style and
size of the bigger, readable and color-coded number plates:
Provided, That the contents of the number plates shall be
readable from the front, the back, and the side of the
motorcycle from a distance of at least fifteen (15) meters from
the motorcycle.

The LTO shall also devise a color scheme of the readable

number plates for every region in the Philippines where a
motorcycle is registered for quick and easy identification.

The readable number plates must be displayed in both

the front and back sides of a motorcycle and shall be made
of suitable and durable material as determined by the LTO.

The utilization of voluntary and paid labor from prisoners

shall be among the requirements to bid for the procurement
of the number plates under this Act.

Se c . 6. Registry of Motorcycles. - The LTO shall

maintain a registry of motorcycles in a database to facilitate
information retrieval for official investigation and law
enforcement purposes. The registry of motorcycles shall
include, but not limited to, the following information: name
of motorcycle owner, motorcycle owner’s driver’s license
number, motorcycle owner’s address and contact details,
motorcycle identification number, motorcycle plate number,
motorcycle body color, motorcycle brand/make. In the registry
of motorcycles, the LTO shall observe at all times Republic
Act No. 10173 or the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”.

Sec . 7. Driving Without a Number Plate or Readable

Number Plate. - Driving without a number plate or a
readable number plate, as provided in this Act, is prohibited.
The driver of a motorcycle without a number plate or readable
number plate, as provided in this Act, shall be punished by
prision correccional as provided in the Revised Penal Code,
or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00)
but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (Pi00,000.00),
or both.

A motorcycle driven w ithout a number plate or a

readable number plate shall be stopped, and such motorcycle
shall be seized by law enforcers and immediately surrendered
to the Phihppine National Police (PNP). 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. The owner of such motorcycle may redeem his
or her seized motorcycle from the LTO upon proof of
ownership, payment of the costs of seizure, and compliance
with a number plate or readable number plate.

Sec . 8. Failure to Surrender Seized Motorcycle. - Any

seized motorcycle must be reported immediately by the
apprehending officer to the LTO and PNP through the Joint
LTO and PNP Operations and Control Center and must be
surrendered within twenty-four (24) hours to the local
impounding center provided by the local government unit
(LGU). Any law enforcer who shall fail to report or surrender
a seized motorcycle, within twenty-four (24) hours from seizure,
shall be punished by prision correccional as defined under the
Revised Penal Code without prejudice to the filing of proper
administrative charges against said officer.

In cases wherein there is loss of, or damage to, the

motorcycle in the custody of the said officer in violation of this
section, the said law enforcement officer shall also be held
monetarily liable for the full worth of the motorcycle lost or
the cost of repairs for the damage caused to the motorcycle
in question.

Furtherm ore, any LTO officer, PNP officer or any

deputized law enforcement personnel shall be held criminally
administratively and monetarily liable for using an impounded
vehicle.

Se c . 9. Use of a Motorcycle in the Commission of a

Crime. —If a motorcycle is used in the commission of a crime
constituting a grave felony under the Revised Penal Code, or
in the escape from the scene of such crime, regardless of the
stage of commission, whether attem pted, frustrated, or
consummated, the owner, driver, backrider or passenger who
participated in the same shall be punished by reclusion
temporal to reclusion perpetua as provided under the Revised
Penal Code.

If 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 the escape from
the scene of such crime, regardless of the stage of commission
whether attempted, frustrated, or consummated, the owner,
driver, backrider or passenger who participated in the same
shall be punished by prision correccional to prision mayor,
as provided under the Revised Penal Code.

If a seized motorcycle is used in the commission of a

crime, the maximum penalty of the relevant crime or offense
shall be imposed.

If death or serious physical injuries, as defined under the

Revised Penal Code, results from the unlawful use of a
motorcycle in the commission of a crime, the penalty of
reclusion perpetua as provided under the Revised Penal Code
shall be imposed.

S e c . 10. Impoundment and Forfeiture of a Motorcycle.

- A motorcycle used in the commission of a crime or offense
shall be impounded by the PNP as evidence in custodia legis
in a secured impounding center provided by the LGU until
the termination of the case. Such motorcycle shall then be
forfeited in favor of the government, unless the court finds that
the defendant is not guilty of the offense charged or such
motorcycle belongs to an innocent third party.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government

(DILG) shall ensure and enforce that all LGUs set aside land
and estabhsh a secured impounding center that shall be under
the control of the PNP to store the impounded motorcycles in
accordance with this Act. They shall also have a computerized/
digitized data to see to it that all impounded or released
motorcycles are duly recorded and such data shall be shared
on a real-time basis to the Joint PNP and LTO Operations
and Control Center.

Sec . 11. Loss of Number Plate or Readable Number

Plate. - If the number plate or readable number plate of
a motorcycle is lost, damaged, or stolen, the owner of such
motorcycle shall immediately report the same to the LTO and
the PNP through the Joint PNP and LTO Operations and
Control Center, and request a replacement number plate.
Failure of the owner to report the same shall subject the
owner to a fine of not less than Twenty thousand pesos
(P20,000.00) but not more th an Fifty thousand pesos
(P50,000.00).

However, if the lost, damaged, or stolen number plate

or readable number plate is used in cormection with an offense
penahzed under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws,
the failure of the owner to report within three (3) days that
the motorcycle is lost, damaged, or stolen, shall subject the
owner to a penalty of imprisonment of arresto mayor to prision
correccional.

S e c . 12. Erasing, Tampering, Forging, Im itating,

Covering or Concealing a Number Plate or Readable Number
Plate and Intentional Use Thereof. - Erasing, tampering,
altering, forging, imitating, covering, concealing a number
plate or readable number plate, or the intentional use of such
erased, tampered, altered, forged, im itated, covered or
concealed number plate or readable number plate, under this
Act shall be punished by prision mayor as provided under the
Revised Penal Code, or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand
pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand
pesos (PIOO.OOO.OO), or both.

If a person knowingly sells or buys an erased, tampered,

altered, forged or imitated number plate or readable number
plate, both such buyer and seller shall be punished by prision
mayor as provided under the Revised Penal Code. However,
if the person who sells or buys the number plate proves that
he or she has no knowledge that it was erased, tampered,
altered, forged or imitated, he or she shall be punished by
arresto mayor.

Sec . 13. Use of a Stolen Number Plate or Readable

Number Plate. - The use of a stolen number plate or
readable number plate in a motorcycle shall be punished by
prision mayor as provided under the Revised Penal Code, or
a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but
not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P 100,000.00), or
both at the discretion of the court.

S e c . 14. Prohibition on Sale and Im portation of

Non-Compliant Motorcycles. —No person, whether natural or
juridical, shall be allowed to sell motorcycles, as defined imder
Section 3(c) of this Act, unless such motorcycle has the
capability to bear and showcase a readable number plate as
required under Section 5 of this Act.

Furthermore, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) shall not

allow the importation into the country of motorcycles, as
defined under Section 3(c) of this Act, whose design will
impede the placement of the required number plate on the
firont and back sides of the motorcycles firmly and securely.

Any motorcycle which does not have any capability to

bear and showcase the required readable number plate shall
not be allowed to be registered with the LTO.

Sec . 15. Joint LTO and PNP Operations and Control

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

Sec . 16. Appropriation. —There is hereby appropriated

an initial funding of One hundred fifty million pesos
(P150,000,000.00) for the implementation of this Act which
shall be included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Subsequent funding shall be included in the GAA.

Sec . 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations. —The

LTO, in consultation with law enforcement and other relevant
agencies, shall promulgate the rules and regulations to
implement the provisions of this Act within a non-extendible
period of ninety (90) days from its effectivity.

S ec . 18. Congressional Oversight on the Motorcycle

Crime Prevention Act. — There is hereby created a
Congressional Oversight Committee on the Motorcycle Crime
Prevention Act to review and assess, among others, the
implementation of this Act. The Congressional Oversight
Committee shall be composed of five (5) members from the
S enate and five (5) m em bers from the House of
Representatives. It shall be co-chaired by the Chairpersons
of the Senate Committee on Justice and House Committee on
Transportation. Such congressional review and oversight shall
be undertaken yearly beginning one (1) year after the effectivity
of this Act and thereafter as may be determined by the
Oversight Committee.

The Oversight Committee shall review the penalties

herein imposed and shall adjust the same accordingly if
deemed necessary.
 Sec . 19. Transitory Provision. - Motorcycle owners
with number plates not in conformity with the provisions of
this Act, shall renew their registration and apply for the
required readable number plate not later than June 30, 2019.
The LTO is given until December 31, 2019 to produce, release
and issue the number plates as required by this Act. After
December 31, 2019, the penal provisions regarding the use of
bigger, readable and color-coded number plates as required
under this Act shall take effect.

S ec . 20. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders,

rules and regulations or other issuances or parts thereof
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed
or modified accordingly.

Sec . 21. Separability Clause. - If any portion or

provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the
remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby
shall remain in force and in effect.

Sec . 22. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect after

fifteen (15) days following the completion of its publication
either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines.
Approved,

GLORIA MMTAPAGAL-ARROYO
M^APAGAL-ARROYO V^ENTE
VICENTE C. SC SOrrO III
Speaker of the House Preside\j/of the Senate
of Representatives
 This Act which is a consohdation of Senate Bill No. 1397
and House Bill No. 8419 was passed by the Senate and the
House of R epresentatives on December 13, 2018 and
Januai^ 14, 2019, respectively.

Dante /R obe^ o ff. MALING M yra Marih d. V illarica

Acting SecrEtap/General Secretary of the Senate
House of Representatives

Approved; .0 8 2019

RODRIC jO roa BUTERTE

President of the Philippines

REPUBLIC OP THE PBILIPPINES

PRJU) 2016 - 009616