Amendments to Act No. 3992 (Automobile Law)

September 22, 1950

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 587

AN ACT TO AMEND SUBSECTIONS (a) AND (b) OF SECTION THREE, ARTICLE TWO OF CHAPTER ONE; SUBSECTIONS (b) AND (d) OF SECTION FIVE, SUBSECTIONS (a), (b), (c), (i), (j), (m) AND (n) OF SECTION SEVEN OF ARTICLE ONE, SECTION EIGHT, SUBSECTIONS (a) AND (d) OF SECTION NINE, AND SECTION TEN, ARTICLE TWO OF CHAPTER TWO, AND INSERT A NEW SECTION BETWEEN SECTIONS EIGHT AND NINE OF THIS ARTICLE TO BE KNOWN AS SECTION EIGHT-A WITH NEW SUBSECTIONS (a), (b), (c) AND (d) AND AMEND, FURTHER, SUBSECTION (a) OF SECTION THIRTEEN, SECTIONS FOURTEEN AND NINETEEN, ARTICLE THREE OF CHAPTER TWO; SECTIONS TWENTY-FOUR, THIRTY-ONE AND THIRTY-FIVE, ARTICLE ONE, SECTION THIRTY-EIGHT, ARTICLE TWO OF CHAPTER THREE; AND SECTION SIXTY-SEVEN OF ARTICLE ONE AND SUBSECTION (b) OF SECTION SEVENTY OF ARTICLE TWO OF CHAPTER FOUR OF ACT NUMBERED THIRTY-NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO, AS AMENDED BY COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE, AND AS FURTHER AMENDED BY COMMONWEALTH ACTS NUMBERED FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX AND SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO

SECTION 1. Whenever the words "Director of Public Works" and "Bureau of Public Works" are used in Act Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, as amended, the same shall be substituted by the words "Chief, Motor Vehicles Office" and "Motor Vehicles Office", respectively.

SECTION 2. Subsections (a) and (b) of section three, article two, Chapter one, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, are hereby amended as follows:

"(a) "Motor vehicles" are all vehicles using the public highways, if propelled by any power other than muscular power, but excepting road rollers, trolley cars, streetsweepers, sprinklers, lawn mowers, bulldozers, graders, and fork-lifts and cranes if not used on public highways or vehicles which run only on rails or tracks, tractors, traction engines of all kinds used exclusively for agricultural purposes."

"Trailers, having any number of wheels, when propelled or intended to be propelled by attachment to a motor vehicle, shall be classified as separate motor vehicle with no power rating."

"(b) "Passenger automobiles" include all pneumatictired vehicles of types similar to those usually known under the following terms: touring car, command car, speedster, roadster, jeep, cycle car (except motor wheel and similar small outfits which are classified with motorcycles), coupe, landaulet, closed car, limousine, cabriolet, sedan, etc. aisa dc

"Motor vehicles with changed or rebuilt bodies, such as jitney or station wagon, etc., using a chassis of the usual pneumatic-tired passenger automobiles, if their net allowable carrying capacity as determined by the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office does not exceed ten passengers and if they are not used primarily for carrying freight or merchandise.

"The distinction between "passenger truck" and "passenger automobile" shall be that of common usage. Usually a motor vehicle registered for more than ten passengers would be termed a truck. In case of dispute, the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office shall determine the classification to which any special type of motor vehicle belongs".

SECTION 3. Subsections (b) and (d) of section 5, article one, Chapter two of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, are amended to read as follows:

"(b) Any registration of motor vehicles not renewed on or before the last working day of February of each calendar year shall become delinquent and invalid, except when the plates of such motor vehicles are returned to the Motor Vehicles Office in Manila, or to the Office of the District Engineer in the province on or before the last working day of December of the year of issue.

"(d) Reports of change of motor number or/and factory number. — No repair or change in a motor vehicle involving the exchanging, elimination, effacing, or replacing of the manufacturer's serial or motor number, or the part or parts upon which such number is stamped shall be made by any owner, proprietor or a garage or repair shop, dealer, or other person or entity without the previous approval of the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office or the District Engineer in the province on penalty of refusal to register, re-register, or transfer said vehicle: Provided, however, That application for registration of a motor vehicle the number of which has the trace of having been altered or tampered with, without the necessary previous approval, shall be rejected."

SECTION 4. Subsections (a), (b), (c), (i), (j), (l), (m), and (n) of section seven, article one, Chapter two of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, are hereby amended as follows: cd i

"(a) Private passenger automobiles; (b) Private trucks; and (c) Private motorcycles or motor wheel attachments. — Motor vehicles registered under these classifications shall not be used "for hire" under any circumstances, and shall not solicit or accept passenger or freight for pay. Laborers necessary to handle freight on board the private truck are allowed to ride on such truck: Provided, however, That seats shall not be installed in the rear compartment thereof: And provided, further, That only the number of such laborers, not exceeding ten, which may be needed to handle the kind of freight carried will ride on the truck: And provided, still further, That the combined weight of cargo and passengers does not exceed the registered net capacity of the truck.

"(i) Hire trucks. — Motor vehicles registered under this classification shall be allowed to carry freight only. Laborers necessary to handle such freight, are allowed to ride in the truck subject to the same limitations as for private trucks under section seven (b). They may solicit and accept freight at any place, except within a radius of one hundred meters from any "competing public station" designated as such by the Public Service Commission: Provided, however, That a bona fide customer may engage a "hire truck" to haul and deliver definitely described shipments addressed to the customer when such shipments have been discharged at such stations by a public service vehicle, awaiting orders of the customer. Applications for registration under this classification must be accompanied by a certificate of public convenience or a special permit issued by the Public Service Commission.

"(j) Undertakers, truck for contractor and truck for customs broker or customs agent. — These are separate designations of "hire trucks" for motor hearses, for contracting business and for the broker's business, respectively: Provided, That applications for registration of trucks for contractors and trucks for customs brokers and customs agents shall be accompanied by a certificate of public convenience or a special permit issued by the Public Service Commission.

"(l) Government automobiles: (m) Government trucks: (n) Government motorcycles. — Motor vehicles owned or controlled by the Government of the Philippines or any of its political subsidiaries, shall be registered under these classifications. Motor vehicles owned or controlled by Government corporations and by Government employees or by foreign governments are not considered Government motor vehicles."

SECTION 5. Section eight, article two, Chapter two, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, as amended by Commonwealth Acts Numbered One hundred and twenty-three, Five hundred and fifty-six and Six hundred and fifty-two, is further amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 8. Schedule of registration fees. — (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, each application for registration of vehicles using motor fuel other than diesel oil, shall be accompanied by an annual registration fee in accordance with the following tariff.

"(b) Private automobiles with pneumatic rubber tires, with passenger capacity of less than seven passengers, the sum of sixty-five pesos; private automobiles with pneumatic tires with passenger capacity of from seven to ten passengers, the sum of eighty-five pesos.

"The registered passenger capacity of passenger automobiles operated for hire or for private use shall be determined as follows:

"1. For each adult passenger, not less than a horizontal rectangular area, including seat and foot space, 40 cm. wide and 60 cm. long, except in the front seat which shall allow 50 cm. wide for the operator.

"2. For each half-passenger, not less than a horizontal rectangular area, including seat and foot space, 20 cm. wide by 60 cm. long, provided, that each continuous row of seats shall not be allowed more than one half-passenger.

"(c) Private motor trucks, passenger buses and trailers with pneumatic rubber tires, the sum of five pesos per hundred kilograms of maximum allowable gross weight or fraction thereof: Provided, That upon trucks owned by duly licensed persons, firms, or associations engaged in creative or productive industries the existing rate of four pesos shall be imposed.

"(d) Private motor trucks, passenger buses and trailers with solid rubber tires or with part solid and part pneumatic rubber tires, the sum of seven pesos per hundred kilograms of maximum allowable gross weight or fraction thereof.

"(e) Private motor vehicles with metallic tires in whole or in part, the sum of fifteen pesos per hundred kilograms of maximum allowable gross weight or fraction thereof.

"(f) Private motorcycles of two or three wheels and bicycles with motor attachments, the sum of fifteen pesos.

"(g) The fee for registration of diesel-oil-consuming vehicles shall be fifty per cent more than that of vehicles using motor fuel other than diesel oil. The fee for registration of motor vehicles for hire shall be sixty per cent more than the fees prescribed for private motor vehicles.

"(h) Dealers. — No fees shall be charged for the general registration of motor vehicles contemplated under the dealers classifications, but in lieu thereof they shall pay the special fees for dealer's number plates provided hereinafter.

 

"(i) Registration under the "Government motor vehicle" classification shall be free of charge, on request of the chief of bureau or office concerned.

"(j) Tourists bringing their own motor vehicles to the Philippines, shall be exempt from payment of registration fees under this Act during but not after the first thirty days of their sojourn.

"After the first thirty days, they shall be subject to the regular fees, except that the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies may, in his discretion, require payment of fees in advance for only the fractional part of a year for which the tourist expects to remain in the Philippines.

"(k) Motor vehicles not intended to be operated or used upon any public highway or motor vehicles operated on highways not constructed or maintained by the Government, or to be placed out of service for any other reason, shall be exempt from payment of the registration fees, provided, in this Act: Provided, however, That no refund, credit for, or reimbursement of registration fees or parts thereof shall be made to any owner on account of a motor vehicle which is taken out of service subsequent to the payment of such registration fees.

"(l) The maximum allowable gross weight of a motor truck, passenger bus, or trailer, upon which to compute the registration fee thereof, shall be obtained by regulations to be promulgated by the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office. The Chief, Motor Vehicles Office shall upon passage of this Act and from time to time thereafter as the needs of the service may require, prepare suitable tables of maximum allowable loads per wheel for different sizes and kinds of tires and shall be issue regulations for the proper use thereof subject to the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, as provided in section four (a) hereof. The registration fees provided in this Act for trucks may be payable in two equal installments, the first to be paid on or before the last working day of February, and the second to be paid on or before the last working day of August."

SECTION 6. A new section to be known as section eight-A is hereby provided as follows:

"Sec. 8-A. Permissible weights and dimensions of vehicles in highway traffic.

"(a) The maximum gross weight and measurement of motor vehicles, unladen or with load, permissible on public highways shall be as specified hereunder, subject to such regulations as the Secretary of Public Works and Communications may promulgate as the conditions of the public highways may determine and as the needs of the service may require from time to time.

"Permissible maximum weights:

1.	Per most heavily loaded wheel	3,600 kilograms
2.	Per most heavily loaded axle	8,000 kilograms
3.	Per most heavily loaded axle
	group (the two axles of the
	group being at least one meter
	and less than two meters apart)	14,500 kilograms

 

"An axle weight shall be total weight transmitted to the road by all wheels the centers of which can be included between the parallel transverse vertical planes one meter apart extending across the full width of the vehicle.

"(b) No meter vehicle operating as a single unit shall exceed the following dimensions:

"Overall width	2.5 meters
"Overall height	4.0 meters
"Overall length:
	Goods vehicles with two axles	10.0 meters
	Passenger vehicles with two axles	11.0 meters
	Vehicles with three or more axles	11.0 meters
	Articulated vehicles	14.0 meters

"(c) No motor vehicle and/or trailer combination shall exceed eighteen meters in overall projected length, including any load carried on such vehicle and trailer.

"(d) "Articulated vehicles" means any motor vehicle with a trailer having no front axle and so attached that part of the trailer is super-imposed upon the motor vehicle and a substantial part of the weight of the trailer and of its load is born by the motor vehicle. Such a trailer shall be called a "semi-trailer"." cd i

"(e) No articulated vehicle shall be allowed to draw or pull a trailer and no vehicle already drawing a trailer may draw another."

SECTION 7. Subsections (a) and (d) of section nine, article two, Chapter two, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two are hereby amended to read as follows:

"(a) To operate a motor vehicle or trailer outfit such that the wheel, axle, or axle group loads in kilograms shall exceed the limits fixed in subsection (a) of section eight-A hereof.

"(d) For registration or use of a motor vehicle exceeding the limit of permissible dimensions specified in subsections (b) and (c) of section eight-A hereof."

SECTION 8. Section ten, article two, Chapter two, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 10. Additional fees. — In addition to the fees elsewhere provided in this Act, for each change of registration status, from private to hire or vice versa; revision of gross weight rating; change of tire size; transfer of ownership; duplicate to replace a lost registration certificate number plate, tag, chauffeur's license or permit; badge; preparation of affidavit or certified copy of records, or for any similar circumstance requiring the issue, revision or re-issue of a certificate of registration, chauffeur's license, badge, permit, or other document, a fee of two pesos shall be collected, to cover the clerical expense of investigating and recording same.

"The issuance of a duplicate certificate, number plate, tag, license, badge or permit shall render the original invalid.

"In case of a request in writing for certification of data or facts involving two or more vehicles, prepared and issued in tabulated form, a fee of five pesos per page or part thereof shall be collected for each certification, to cover the clerical expense of investigating and preparing the same."

SECTION 9. Subsection (a) of section thirteen of article three, Chapter two, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 13. Use and authority of certificate of registration. — (a) The said certificate shall be preserved and carried in the car by the owner as evidence of the registration of the motor vehicle described therein, and shall be attached to and presented with subsequent applications for re-registration or transfer of ownership on penalty of refusal by the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office to re-register or transfer until the said certificate is presented or a duplicate purchased as provided in this Act. cd i

"In lieu, however, of the certificate of registration of a motor vehicle, a true copy thereof, or any other evidence of ownership and payment of current registration fee, may be carried in the car."

SECTION 10. Section fourteen, article three, Chapter two, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 14. Suspension of registration certificate. — If on inspection as provided under section four (h) hereof, the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies find any motor vehicle to be unsightly, dangerous, overloaded, or capable of causing excessive damage as aforesaid, he may refuse to register the same; or if already registered he may require the number plates to be surrendered to him; and upon seventy-two hours notice to the owner or operator, suspend such registration until the defects of the vehicles are corrected. When the record of any particular motor vehicle or of its chauffeurs shows for any twelve months period, more than three warnings to the owner or chauffeur for violations of this Act, or of the Public Service Acts, or more than one conviction by the courts, the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office may in his discretion or upon recommendation of the Public Service Commissioner, suspend the certificate of registration and require the surrender of the number plates for a period not to exceed sixty days."

"After two such suspensions, the owner may be refused re-registration of the vehicle concerned for one year.

"The action of the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies under this section shall be communicated in writing to the owner of the motor vehicle."

SECTION 11. Section nineteen, article three, Chapter two, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 19. Dealers' number plates. — To any dealer who desires to operate motor vehicles from his stock, for demonstration or test purposes, the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office shall furnish special dealer's number plates, upon payment of fifteen pesos annually for each plate furnished or retained in such service, plus a fee of fifty centavos for each year tag issued, if any."

SECTION 12. Section twenty-four, article one, Chapter three, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 24. Driver's license, fees, examination. — Every person who desires personally to operate any motor vehicle shall make application to the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies for a license to drive motor vehicles: Provided, however, That no person shall be issued a professional chauffeur's license who is suffering from highly contagious diseases, such as, advanced tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, and the like.

"Each such application except in the case of enlisted men operating Government owned vehicles shall be accompanied by a fee of two pesos, and shall contain such information respecting the applicant and his ability to operate motor vehicles, as may be required by the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office. aisa dc

"The Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies shall also ascertain that the applicant's sight and hearing are normal, and may, in their discretion, require a certificate to that effect, signed by a reputable physician.

"An examination on or demonstration to show any applicant's ability to operate motor vehicles may also be required in the discretion of the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies."

SECTION 13. Section thirty-one, article one, Chapter three, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 31. Renewal of license. — Any license not renewed on or before the last working day of February of each year shall become delinquent and invalid.

"The fee for renewal of delinquent license shall be five pesos.

"Every applicant for renewal of license to operate a motor vehicle shall present to the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, either in person or by mail or passenger the license issued to the applicant for the previous year, together with the proper fee of five pesos and, in the case of professional chauffeurs, three copies of a readily recognized photograph of the applicant which photograph shall have been taken not exceeding three years prior to the date of application for renewal.

"Lost license. — In case the license for the previous year has been lost or cannot be produced, the applicant shall obtain a duplicate on accord with section ten of this Act, on penalty of refusal, by the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies to renew the license: Provided, however, That the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office or his deputies may, in their discretion, accept in lieu of the previous year's license, the duly signed and sworn statement of an operator to the effect that he has not operated any motor vehicle in the Philippines during the year or years for which no license was issued in his name.

"The Chief, Motor Vehicles Office and his deputies are hereby authorized to administer the oath in connection with such an affidavit."

SECTION 14. Section thirty-five, article one, Chapter three, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 35. Student's permit. — Upon receipt of the fee of two pesos the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies are further authorized to issue student permits good for six months, to persons not under eighteen years of age, who desire to learn to operate motor vehicles. The Chief, Motor Vehicles Office may in his discretion require six months' operation as a student, as a prerequisite to the acceptance of an application for a chauffeur's license.

"In the discretion of the Chief, Motor Vehicles Office, or his deputies, persons claiming to have learned to operate motor vehicles in other countries or States, may be allowed to apply for a regular license without the previous requirement of a student's permit.

"A student operator who applies for a regular license, but fails to prove competent in the examination, shall continue as a student for at least one additional month. No student's permit shall authorize the person to whom the same is issued to operate a motor vehicle in any public highway, unless accompanied by a person carrying a regular license for the current year, issued under this Act to operate such motor vehicle.

"The licensed chauffeur acting as instructor shall be responsible and liable for any violation of the provisions of this Act and for any injury or damage done by a motor vehicle, on account or as a result of its operation by a student under his direction."

SECTION 15. Section thirty-eight, article two, Chapter three of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 38. Imitation and false representations. — No person shall make or use or attempt to make or use a chauffeur's license, badge, certificate of registration, number plate, tag, or permit in imitation or similitude of those issued under this Act, or intended to be used as or for a legal license, badge, certificate, plate, tag or permit, or with intent to sell or otherwise dispose of the same to another. No person shall falsely or fraudulently represent as valid and in force any chauffeur's license, badge, certificate, plate, tag or permit issued under this Act which is delinquent or which has been revoked or suspended.

"No person shall knowingly and with intent to deceive make one or more false or fraudulent statements in an application for the registration of vehicles, or for a chauffeur's license."

SECTION 16. Section sixty-seven, article one, Chapter four, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 67. Violation and penalties. — The following penalties shall be imposed for violations of this Act.

"(a) For delinquent registration. — For registration later than seven days after taking possession of an unregistered motor vehicle or after conversion of a registered motor vehicle requiring larger registration fee than that for which it was originally registered or for renewal of a delinquent registration the penalty shall be a fifty per cent addition to the fees mentioned in section eight hereof, corresponding to the portion of the year for which the vehicle is registered for use.

"(b) For failure to sign chauffeur's license or its duplicate or to carry same while operating, twenty pesos fine.

"(c) For operation with a delinquent or invalid license fifty pesos fine.

"(d) If, as the result of negligence or reckless or unreasonably fast driving any accident occurs resulting in death or serious bodily injury to any person, the motor vehicle driver at fault, shall, upon conviction be punished under the provisions of the Penal Code. aisa dc

"(e) For failure to stop in case of accident, one hundred pesos fine or imprisonment of not less than one month nor more than three months, or both, in the discretion of the Court.

"(f) For operation of a motor vehicle without proper number plates or tags for the current year, three hundred pesos fine.

"(g) For operation of a motor vehicle, with delinquent, suspended or invalid registration, or without registration, one hundred pesos fine.

"(h) For operation of a motor vehicle by an unlicensed operator, one hundred pesos fine.

"(i) For operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor, a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than two hundred pesos or an imprisonment of not more than three months, or both, in the discretion of the Court.

"(j) For using a private passenger automobile, private trucks, private motorcycles, and motor wheel attachments for hire, in violation of section seven, subsections (a), (b), and (c), of this Act, a fine of two hundred pesos and suspension of chauffeur's license for a period of three months for the first conviction; and a fine of three hundred pesos and six months imprisonment for the second conviction; and an imprisonment of one year and permanent revocation of the chauffeur's license for the third conviction, shall be imposed.

"(k) For permitting, allowing, consenting to, or tolerating the use of a private owned motor vehicle for hire in violation of sections seven, subsection (a), (b), and (c) of this Act, there shall be imposed a fine of two hundred pesos for the first conviction, and an increase of one hundred pesos for each subsequent conviction.

"(l) For violation of any provision of this Act or regulations not hereinbefore specifically punished, a fine of not less than fifty pesos nor more than one hundred pesos shall be imposed: Provided, That any person found guilty of any violation of section thirty-eight of this Act shall pay a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than two hundred pesos."

SECTION 17. Subsection (b) of section seventy, article two, Chapter four, of Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred and ninety-two, is hereby amended to read as follows: cd

"(b) No other taxes or fees than those prescribed in this Act shall be imposed for the registration or operation or on the ownership of any motor vehicle, or for the exercise of the profession of chauffeur, by any municipal corporation, the provisions of any city charter to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided, however, That any provincial board, city or municipal council or board, or other competent authority may exact and collect such reasonable and equitable toll fees for the use of such bridges and ferries, within their respective jurisdictions, as may be authorized and approved by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, and also for the use of such public roads, as may be authorized by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, but in none of these cases, shall any toll fees be charged or collected until and unless the approved schedule of tolls shall have been posted legibly in a conspicuous place at such toll station."

SECTION 18. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 1951.

Approved: September 22, 1950

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 47, No. 1, p. 46 in January 1951