SENATOR Sherwin T. Gatchalian said the Proof-of-Parking Space bill still needs to be enacted with the aim of helping decongest Metro Manila’sroads, following the policy of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to impose higher fines on illegal parked vehicles.
“The MMDA’s move to impose higher penalties may now prompt motorists to think twice before parking their cars along the streets,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“However, I believe that we still need a law that will instill a culture of responsible vehicle ownership among Filipinos,” he added.
Senate Bill No. 201 or the proposed Proof-of-Parking Space Act, which he filed, requires individuals and businesses to execute an affidavit confirming that they have acquired a parking space before being allowed to purchase vehicles.
The bill also mandates the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the MMDA, and local government units to conduct ocular inspections of major and minor thoroughfares of Metro Manila in order to remove illegally parked vehicles and to catch erring car owners.
A technical working group was created last October by the Senate committee on trade, commerce and entrepreneurship to refine the bill.
The MMDA recently raised the fine for attended illegally parked vehicles from P200 to P1,000. Meanwhile, drivers of unattended illegally parked vehicles will have to pay P2,000. M. Gatchalian said the bill was a complement for the MMDA’srecent policies intended to solve Metro Manila traffic.
“With this bill, we hope to make National Capital Region (NCR) a more livable place by decongesting the roads of our nation’scapital, taking a modest step toward solving Manila’sperennial traffic in the process,” he said. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

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