Senate committee to tackle proof-of-parking space bill

PARK AT YOUR OWN RISK A bill pending in the Senate tasks government agencies, including the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, to go after owners of illegally parked vehicles.—GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

The Senate is a step closer to enacting a bill that would make it tougher for Metro Manila residents to buy a new car as they will be required first to prove that they have parking space.

The Senate trade, commerce and entrepreneurship committee recently formed a technical working group to refine the proposed Proof-of-Parking Space Act under Senate Bill No. 201 filed by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

Prerequisite

Under the bill, individuals and businesses in the metropolis will be allowed to buy vehicles only after the execution of an affidavit confirming that they have acquired, either through purchase or lease, a parking space for the vehicle they plan to buy.

Gatchalian in a statement, said the measure received “full support” from different civil society groups and government agencies.

According to him, the bill will instill a culture of responsible vehicle ownership among Filipinos.

“The concept really here is responsibility when you buy vehicles. We are now putting the responsibility on the car owners. If you buy cars, you have to make sure that you have a parking space for your own vehicle,” Gatchalian said.
Relevant
“I think this is quite relevant at this time because if you try to pass [through] the side streets to avoid traffic in major thoroughfares, there is a greater chance that you will get stuck in traffic due to the cars parked along the narrow streets,” he added.

According to Land Transportation Office (LTO) records, the number of registered motor vehicles between 2015 and 2017 is 10.4 million. There are an estimated 1,000 new registrants daily, 600 of which are newly purchased vehicles.

Law enforcers

The bill also mandates the LTO, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and local governments to conduct frequent ocular inspections of major and minor thoroughfares in the capital to remove illegally parked vehicles and punish owners who refuse to comply with the law.

Gatchalian said local governments would be primarily responsible for implementing the proposed law.

“It is better to have a national policy so that the local governments may impose that national law,” he stressed.