Leyte lawmaker seeks ban on parking fees in malls, hotels

Leyte Representative Sergio Apostol INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Mall goers may save more shopping money if a bill that bans the payment of parking fees is passed.

House Deputy Speaker and Leyte Representative Sergio Apostol said House Bill 3779 seeks to ban the payment of fees for the use of parking spaces and other facilities in shopping malls, hotels and other similar commercial establishments.

Apostol, the author of the bill, said parking services should be shouldered by the mall.

“It is a matter of courtesy that malls or hotels for that matter should not collect parking fees… It should be part of their service,” Apostol said in a statement on Thursday.

“It is totally wrongful that malls and other commercial establishments have practically built whole new businesses anchored entirely on making money out of their car parking facilities that ought to be made available for free to their customers,” the lawmaker added.

The ban, however, does not include buildings or spaces which were built to provide parking spaces, the bill read.

The bill also compels these establishments to submit a sworn statement that the space would be used for parking purposes only, and that these are not connected to any mall, hotel and other similar commercial establishments.

Violators would be penalized with a P100,000 to P500,000 fine, while members of the establishment’s Board of Directors or any other corporate officers may face imprisonment of not more than five years.

RELATED STORY

Manila mulls privatization of parking fee collection