Vehicle Impound offenses.

                                                 Impoundable Violations

DOTC-LTO (MC 89-105)

The following violations shall cause the impounding of a motor vehicle:
(Sec. 73, MC 89-105)

• Unregistered/Improperly registered/delinquent or invalid registration
• Unregistered substitute or replacement motor, vehicle engine, engine block or chassis
• Unauthorized change of color or configuration
• Operating, allowing the operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended or revoked Certificate of Registration
• Using license plates different from the body number
• Illegal Transfer of plates, tags, or stickers
• Violations involving absence of required parts, accessories or devices or defective parts, accessories or devices which pose danger to the public
• Authorized route not properly painted
• Unauthorized/improvised number plates
• Failure to paint on vehicle business or trade name
• Failure to paint required markings
• No body number (for PUV)
• Using radio or stereo in violation of existing regulation or without the necessary permit, or in breach of the condition in permit regulation.
• Installation of jalousies, curtains, dim colored lights, strobe lights, dancing lights or similar lights, colored tinted or painted windshield on window glass on "for hire" vehicles

In addition, the following violations shall also cause the impounding of the motor vehicle:

• Driving without a license plate
• Fake drivers license/TVR
• Fake sticker
• Fake license plate
• Fake Official Receipt and Certificate of Registration
• Tampered documents pertaining to franchising, registration and licensing
• Failure to present any document regarding motor vehicle ATTA
• Breach of Franchise Conditions
• Improper use of drivers license
• Expired drivers license
• Expired Traffic Violation Receipt

MMDA Enforcers

10 Things That Drivers Should Know (Updated May 25, 2011)

1. MMDA Enforcers are not allowed to group together while apprehending a motorist. They are not even allowed to stand together in groups of two (2) or more, except in actual times of special operations (e.g. apprehending groups of smoke-belching/colorum buses).
2. Swerving is not a traffic violation per se. It is defined as a movement wherein vehicles shift from a lane to another. However, it can constitute the offense of reckless driving if it is done without precautions (e.g. swerving in an abrupt and careless manner, swerving without the use of signals, swerving across solid lines).
   
   Swerving can also constitute the offense of Disregarding Traffic Signs if there are signs present that explicitly prohibit swerving in the area.
3. A driver's license cannot be confiscated by a Traffic Enforcer during traffic apprehensions except on the following situations:

The driver was involved in a traffic accident The driver has accumulated three (3) or more unsettled violations The driver has been apprehended for the following violations: Allowing another person to use driver's license Broken sealing wire Broken taximeter seal Colorum operation (cargo/passenger vehicle) Driving against traffic Fake driver's license Fake/altered taximeter seal Fake/altered sealing wire Fast/defective/non-operational/tampered taxi meter Flagged up meter Illegal or unauthorized counter-flow Illegal transfer of plates/tags/stickers Joined/reconnected sealing wire No driver's ID Ignoring Organized Bus Route (OBR) interval timers (for 2nd offense) Skipping or bypassing designated OBR terminals or loading bays (for 2nd offense) Operating on contractual basis Out of line operation Overcharging (with or without conductor) (for the 2nd offense) Overspeeding Refusal to convey passengers to destination/trip-cutting (Taxis and Public Utility Vehicles) Refusal to render service to public (Taxis and Public Utility Vehicles) Tampered sealing wire Tampered taximeter seal Tampering of OR/CR/CPC & other documents (spurious documents) Undue preference/unjust discrimination Using motor vehicle in commission of crime The above-mentioned administrative violations also require a minimum of 2 hours seminar (for the drivers) at the Traffic Academy. However, any driver who has committed three (3) or more unpaid violations, whether administrative or moving, shall also be subject to attending seminars, whose length shall be based on the results of the diagnostic exam (exam that will determine the contents of the seminar progress), which will be administered by the Agency. *Note: If the license is to be confiscated, the Traffic Enforcer should inform the driver of the reason/s for the confiscation and the ticket validity. If the driver refuses to surrender his driver's license, his plate may be detached pursuant to Section 74 & 75, MC 89-105.

4. Private Vehicles are not allowed to use the yellow lane except when they are about to turn - provided that they start shifting lanes upon seeing the transition lane (broken white lines painted diagonally), that you can see around 50 meters away from an intersection. However, selective apprehension of private vehicles using the yellow lane is highly prohibited.
   The yellow lanes (1st and 2nd lanes in EDSA) are only for City Buses. City Buses are not allowed to go beyond the yellow lanes. If they do so, they will be apprehended for violating the yellow lane policy.
   Provincial buses are also not allowed to use the yellow lane. Instead, they are encouraged to use the third lane.
5. Each Traffic Enforcer has his/her own written mission order issued by the MMDA Central Admin. Apprehended drivers are free to ask for the apprehending officer's mission order, which includes his area of responsibility, time of duty, official function. It also indicates whether or not the enforcer is authorized to issue tickets.
6. Traffic Enforcers should issue TVR in complete uniform, with visible nameplates. Traffic Enforcers are instructed to accomplish the TVR (Traffic Violation Receipt) without any delay or argument on the road, so as to avoid traffic congestion.
7. The Apprehending Enforcer is allowed to issue another TVR for Towing Fee. If the owner of the impounded vehicle fails to release his vehicle after payment of fine in the stipulated date, the impounding officer shall issue a separate TVR indicating no. of days it has remained at the impounding area.
8. Before apprehending, the Traffic Enforcer should flag down the vehicle and lead it to the roadside where it will not obstruct the flow of traffic. Traffic Enforcers should courteously inform the driver of his violation.
9. Traffic Enforcers are not allowed to ask drivers to alight from their vehicles while the apprehension is taking place. Most importantly, Traffic Enforcers are not allowed to ask or receive bribe money.
10. During traffic apprehensions, the following can be considered as a valid driver's license:

ID Plastic Card DLR / Temporary Driver's License TOP (Temporary Operator's Permit) International Driver's License Foreign License

The Traffic Enforcer should exercise extra diligence in verifying the veracity of the data or documents presented.

If you encounter any Traffic Enforcer violating any of these, get the name of the Traffic Enforcer indicated on his/her name plate, and submit a letter of complaint addressed to the Traffic Adjudication Board (TAB), MMDA Bldg. EDSA cor. Orense St. Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City, within 5 days after the apprehension.
In case you are involved in an argument with a Traffic Enforcer, call the MMDA Hotline 136, or the Metrobase at 0917-561-8711. Ask the Metrobase to send inspectors to go to the place where the argument is taking place for proper investigation.
You may also e-mail complaints against erring Traffic Enforcers to the MMDA thru email@mmda.gov.ph. Include full details of the incident (attach photos or videos if possible), so that they will be able to act promptly on the matter.

Lost License Plates in the Philippines

LOST PLATE

The MMDA and the LTO implement a "NO PLATE, NO TRAVEL" policy.

If your plate was lost, file for an affidavit of loss and submit it to the LTO, and apply to get or use an improvised plate.

Once authorized, make sure that the original copy of your Authority to Operate with the use of Improvised Plate is always carried by the driver on all his travels.                                            

Littering law in the Philippines

                                                 Anti-Littering Law: 10 Things You Should Know

1. What is the Anti-Littering Law?
The Anti-Littering Law is MMDA Regulation No. 96-009 entitled, "PROHIBITING LITTERING/DUMPING/THROWING OF GARBAGE, RUBBISH OR ANY KIND OF WASTE IN OPEN OR PUBLIC PLACES, AND REQUIRING ALL OWNER'S, LESSEES, OCCUPANTS OF RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS, WHETHER PRIVATE OR PUBLIC TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN THE CLEANLINESS OF THEIR FRONTAGE AND IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF", which was enacted into law by the Metro Manila Council on the 22nd Day of August, 1996. The regulation was amended on May 6, 1999 by MMDA Regulation No. 99-006.
2. When did the Anti-Littering Law take effect?
The law originally took effect on September 15, 1996. The implementation of the law was suspended last August 2002. The law will again be implemented in Metro Manila starting September 16, 2010.
3. What acts are prohibited by the Anti-Littering Law?
The Anti-Littering Law prohibits the following acts:
• Littering, Illegal dumping, Illegal disposal of garbage;
• Urinating, defecating, spitting in a public place;
• Dirty frontage and immediate surroundings for establishment owners;
• Improper and untimely stacking of garbage outside residence or establishment;
• Obstruction (any dilapidated appliance, vehicle, and etc., display of merchandise, illegal structure along sidewalk);
• Dirty public utility vehicles, or no trash can or receptacle;
• Spilling, scattering, littering of wastes by public utility vehicles; and
• Illegal posting or installed signage, billboards, posters, streamers and movie ads., etc.
4. Who has authority to apprehend violators of this law?
The MMDA will have deputized Environmental Enforcers monitoring the major thoroughfares of Metro Manila. These Environmental Enforcers (EE) will initially be in their mint green polo-shirt uniform (with MMDA logo), with identification cards (both employee ID and Deputation ID) clearly visible and displayed. They will be in charge of issuing Environmental Violation Receipts (EVR) to persons caught violating the Anti-Littering Law. The EE's ID shall contain a written Deputation Order, stating the name and deputation number of the EE, his authority to issue EVRs, and until when the order is effective.
5. How much is the fine if you violate this law?
The penalties for violating the provisions of the Anti-Littering law, according to the nature of offenses, are as follows:

Code	Nature of Offense	Option 1 (Payment of Fines)	Option 2 (Render Community Service)
01	Littering, Illegal dumping, Illegal disposal of garbage	P500.00	8 hours (1 day)
02	Urinating, defecating, spitting in a public place	P500.00	8 hours (1 day)
03	Dirty frontage and immediate surroundings for establishment owners	P1000.00	16 hours (2 days)
04	Improper and untimely stacking of garbage outside residence or establishment	P500.00	8 hours (1 day)
05	Obstruction (any dilapidated appliance, vehicle, and etc., display of merchandise, illegal structure along sidewalk)	P1000.00	16 hours (2 days)
06	Dirty public utility vehicles, or no trash can or receptacle	P500.00	8 hours (1 day)
07	Spilling, scattering, littering of wastes by public utility vehicles	P500.00	8 hours (1 day)
08	Illegal posting or installed signage, billboards, posters, streamers and movie ads., etc.	P1000.00	16 hours (2 days)

6. What is the MMDA's protocol in deploying Environmental Enforcers?
Environmental Enforcers will be deployed in teams. Each team will have a team leader and an assistant team leader, who will both have the exclusive authority to issue EVRs. These two will be assisted by one photographer and one recorder to document each apprehension made by their team leader or assistant team leader. A spotter shall be deployed by the MMDA for each team to monitor possible violators of the agency's regulations. It is the spotter's duty to bring the violator to the Environmental Enforcer for issuance of ticket. The Environmental Officer should tell the violator of the details of his/her violation, and the proper payment process.
7. What are the procedures for payment of administrative fines?
Upon apprehension, a violator will be given an option to either pay the fine, or to render community service. For payment of fines or rendering of Community Service, the following procedures should be observed: Option 1 (Payment)
1. Report to MMDA HPSEPO for Order of Payment of the charged Administrative Fine according to the nature of offense committed.
2. Go to the MMDA Treasury Operations Service for the payment of fine
3. Submit the initial receipt to HPSEPO for clearance and documentation
Option 2 (Community Service)
1. Report to MMDA HPSEPO for proper orientation on the Environmental Regulations Schedule and Instruction
2. Render Community Service
3. Go to HPSEPO for clearance and issuance of Certificate of Compliance
8. What if I don't pay the fine nor render Community Service?
If you do not show-up within 3-days after the receipt of the apprehension, you will be given the 1st summon which will only be valid for 15 days. If you still don't settle your violation within 15 days, you will be given the 2nd summon which is also valid for 15 days. If you still don't settle your violation after 15 days, the final summon, which is valid for 1 (one) month, will be given to you. If you still ignore the final summon, your case will be filed at the Metropolitan Trial Court of the city where you were apprehended. If you do not show up to the scheduled hearings, you will be given a Warrant of Arrest. In addition, your violation will be forwarded to the NBI. Failure to pay the administrative fine of P500 or render 8 hours Community Services shall be penalized, after conviction, by a fine of One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00), or imprisonment of three (3) to seven (7) days, or both, at the discretion of the court. Failure to pay the administrative fine of P1,000 or render 16 hours of Community Service shall be penalized, after conviction, by a fine of Two Thousand Pesos (P2,000.00) or imprisonment of seven (7) days to one (1) month, or both, at the discretion of the court.
9. If I have a pending violation of the Anti-littering law, will it be possible for me to obtain an NBI clearance? If not, what is the procedure for getting myself cleared from the violation?
No, you will not be able to get an NBI clearance. To clear your record, you need to go to the MMDA and pay your fine. After paying, go to the HPSEPO and get your "Motion to Withdraw Information" certificate signed by the Senior Prosecutor of the DOJ. After this, bring the "Motion to Withdraw Information" certificate to the concerned Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC). After submitting, the MTC will give you the "Certificate of No Case." Finally, bring your "Certificate of No Case" so that you'll be allowed to obtain an NBI Clearance.
10. What do I do if I want to protest my EVR or file a complaint against an Environmental Enforcer?
If you feel your EVR was issued without any legal basis or in violation of the protocol, you may contest by going to the MMDA-HPSEPO Adjudication Office (7th floor MMDA Main Bldg. EDSA cor. Orense St. Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City) to fill-up the protest form indicating all relevant details regarding your complaint, within 1 week (7 days) after the receipt of the apprehension.

HR group: AFP men aiding Palparan

MANILA, Philippines - A US-based human rights group yesterday urged President Aquino to order the military to cooperate with civilian authorities in arresting retired general Jovito Palparan and others charged with the enforced disappearance of two activists in 2006.

Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said they have information that some sympathetic military personnel were thwarting attempts by civilian authorities to capture Palparan.
“President Aquino should get the message to the military that the years of protecting Palparan for grievous abuses are over. Officers and soldiers alike should be on notice that if they block civilian authorities in arresting Palparan, they, too, will face legal consequences,” Pearson said.
The military, however, yesterday challenged Human Rights Watch to name the soldiers providing protection to Palparan.
Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said they are ready to work with agencies that would probe the supposed coddlers of the retired general.
“We challenge them (Human Rights Watch) to submit names. You file a complaint and this will be addressed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Burgos said in a press briefing.
“We are willing to cooperate with any agency to help us also in further protection and promotion of human rights,” he added.
Burgos said they will not tolerate any soldier providing safe haven or sanctuary to wanted personalities.
He, however, said sanctions can only be slapped on active soldiers and not the retired ones.
“We don’t have any jurisdiction anymore for those who are retired in the Armed Forces but provide us with the names of those in the active service then we would initiate action,” Burgos said.
Palparan has been on the run since he was charged in December with kidnapping University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. The two activists remain missing.
Apart from Palparan, the Department of Justice also filed charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention against Sgt. Rizal Hilario, who is also on the run, while Lt. Col. Felipe Antado and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio have surrendered and transferred to military custody.
For her part, Cadapan’s mother Erlinda said efforts of the government in hunting down Palparan are not enough, adding that it should have issued a shoot-to-kill order for the retired general instead of just offering P1-million reward for his capture.
“I don’t think the government is serious in helping us get justice for our children,” Mrs. Cadapan said in Filipino.   – With Alexis Romero, Dino Balabo, AP - By Rhodina Villanueva (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com) 

'Accuser's kin all in drug business'

MANILA, Philippines - The Northern Police District (NPD) anti-illegal drugs division officials charged with extortion before the National Police Commission said yesterday the complainant only wanted to get back at them for arresting her relatives for drug offenses.

Chief Inspector Romeo Ricalde Jr., NPD-District Anti-Illegal Drugs (DAID) Special Operations Task Group head, said the family of Editha Morales, 33, a resident of Bagong Barrio in Caloocan City, is at the top of their list of suspected drug peddlers.
“The complainant’s husband is in jail for a drug offense, her mother and her three siblings were also arrested for the same offense. Drug peddling is their family’s business,” Ricalde told The STAR yesterday.
Ricalde said Editha’s younger siblings – Christopher, Peter and Bernadeth – all residents of Bagong Barrio in Caloocan City, have been charged with drug offenses by the NPD-DAID. Senior Police Officer 1 Fernando Gomboc led the team who arrested them.
Editha’s mother Edna, and Editha’s two other sisters – Irene and Daisy – were arrested by the Caloocan City police anti-narcotics unit, he said.
Ricalde said on Dec. 30, 2011, his men also conducted a drug bust targeting Edna’s other brother, identified only as “Pogi,” in Bagong Barrio but failed to arrest him.
Chance encounter
On Jan. 3, at around 4 p.m., Ricalde tasked a team led by Police Officer 3 Doelethone Gatdula to turn over to the custody of the Caloocan City Jail drug suspect Brandon Buenaventura.
Ricalde said when his men were about to return to the DAID office, they encountered Editha and Edna outside the jail. The two women confronted the police officers about their failed operation against Pogi, accusing them of trying to shoot him.
Gatdula told Editha and Edna to follow them to their office if they want to file a formal complaint, Ricalde said.
Record at the DAID blotter showed Edna and her daughter arrived at the anti-narcotics unit office at around 5 p.m. on Jan. 3 but both left after a heated argument with the police. Ricalde said Edna resented it when he scolded her about allegedly consenting to her children’s illegal activities.
Ricalde said Edna warned him and his men that she would sue them.
On Jan. 5, Editha filed a complaint before the Napolcom accusing Ricalde, Gatdula and Gomboc of illegal arrest, arbitrary detention and extortion.
In her statement Editha claimed two men forced her into a gray Toyota Innova car and brought her to the NPD-DAID office, where the accused allegedly asked P300,000 in exchange for her freedom.
Edna claimed that she followed her daughter to the NPD-DAID office upon learning of her arrest. Editha said she and her mother agreed to pawn her house to a certain Francisco Abella for P170,000.
At about 10 p.m., Edna said she returned to the DAID office with the P170,000, which she allegedly gave to Gatdula and to a certain “Toto.”
After the alleged payoff, the police allowed them to go home.
“Those are malicious allegations and very self-serving,” Ricalde said. - By Pete Laude (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com) 

4 Dominguez carjack gang men slain

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – Four suspected remnants of the Dominguez carjacking syndicate, supposedly including the one who burned car dealer Emerson Lozano, were killed in a shootout with lawmen and operatives of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) in Meycauayan City, Bulacan yesterday morning.

Senior Superintendent Fernando Mendez, Bulacan police director, said only one of the slain suspects was identified as Nestor Samonte, 32.
But HPG director Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said one of the three others had the same build and complexion of Napoleon Salamat, who was wanted for the 2011 killings of Lozano, fellow car dealer Venson Evangelista and Lozano’s driver Ernani Sensil.
Espina said another member of the Dominguez syndicate, Rolando Talban, tagged as the group’s triggerman, could be the one who managed to escape on a motorcycle along with a companion at the height of the shootout at around 1:45 a.m. at Muralla Park in Meycauayan.
The syndicate leaders, brothers Raymond and Roger Dominguez, are locked up in jail and being tried on car theft with homicide charges for the killing of Evangelista.
Told about the shootout, lawyer Oliver Lozano, the slain car dealer’s father, said, “They have been killing their victims like chickens. Now they died like rats.”
“That’s what I have been saying that while you can ran away from the law, you cannot escape karma,” he said.
In his testimony, state witness Alfred Mendiola said it was Salamat who burned the young Lozano.
For his part, Evangelista’s father Arsenio said, “I also believe he was the one who burned my son.”
Espina said elements of the HPG Task Force Limbas responded to a report on a group of men detaching and replacing the license plate of a gray Isuzu D-Max.
As the lawmen were approaching the scene, the suspects opened fire, triggering the shootout. Two of the suspects died on the spot, and the two others in a nearby hospital.
A check showed that the license plate being attached to the Isuzu D-Max – NOA-153 – was for a Honda Civic stolen in Cabuyao, Laguna.
Seized at the scene of the shootout were an Ingram machine pistol with live bullets, three caliber .45 pistols with bullets, another license plate (NHI-625), an ATM card of one Pablo Baguiwet, a copy of Salamat’s release order dated Nov. 4, 2010, and a driver’s license of one Eduardo Lopez who matched Talban’s description.
Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo ordered the police to hunt down the killers of a female witness against the Dominguez brothers.
Robredo issued the order after receiving a report that Cristina Bruan Rojas was shot dead in a passenger jeepney yesterday after attending a court hearing in Malolos City on the car theft case against Raymond Dominguez. – With Reinir Padua, Ric Sapnu, Cecille Suerte Felipe - By Dino Balabo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)