THREE-YEAR VALIDITY | Motorcycle riders pass along Marcos Highway. Starting May 15, registration of new 200cc motorcycles will be valid for three years. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will extend the registration validity of new motorcycles up to three years in a new policy seen to benefit drivers who use motorcycles for their livelihood.
In a statement on Sunday, the LTO said its Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2395, which will take effect on May 15, will benefit around 2 million drivers whose newly registered motorcycles have an engine displacement of 200cc and below.
LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo Tugade said they decided to give a three-year validity of vehicle registration even for motorcycles with an engine displacement of 200cc and below, following studies conducted by the LTO.
Under previous guidelines, only motorcycles with an engine displacement of 201cc and above were qualified for a three-year validity period upon their initial registration with the LTO based on Republic Act No. 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, and RA 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
This meant that motorcycles with an engine displacement of 200cc and below must register every year once the three-year validity period lapses.
Divine Reyes, spokesperson for the LTO, explained that the new policy would relieve drivers of the expenses for yearly emission testing as mostly those with 200cc and below engines were being used as motorcycle taxis and for deliveries.
“We do not see that there will be a problem with the roadworthiness of motorcycles with three-year registration because these are new vehicles,” Tugade said.
Aside from extending the registration validity of new motorcycles, the LTO memorandum likewise stated that the motor vehicle user’s charge to be collected during the initial registration would also be adjusted to cover the corresponding registration validity period.