Marcos inks law lowering some penalties for motorcycle riders

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has signed into law a measure seeking to lower some penalties and fines relative to the use of motorcycles, amending the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act. 

Signed on May 9, 2025, Republic Act No. 12209 states that the driver of a motorcycle without a number plate or readable number plate shall be punished with a fine of not more than P5,000. The Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act had prescribed a fine of P50,000 to P100,000 for the violation.

It added that a motorcycle driven without a number plate or a readable number plate shall be stopped and seized by law enforcers, and immediately surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP), but added that "no seizure shall be made upon showing proof of ownership and registration and that the owner is not at fault for the non-installation of a number plate or readable plate." 

If the number plate or readable number plate of a motorcycle is lost, damaged, or stolen, the owner or possessor of the motorcycle must report it to the LTO and the PNP through the Joint PNP and LTO Operations and Control Center within 72 hours from discovery of such loss or damage, and request a replacement number plate. 

Failure of the owner to report the same shall subject the owner to a fine of not more than P5,000; and if the lost, damaged, or stolen number plate or readable number plate is used in connection with an offense penalized under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws, the failure of the owner to report within three days that the motorcycle is lost, damaged, or stolen, shall subject the owner to a fine of not more than P10,000. 

In the previous law, failure to report the loss number plate or readable number plate subjected the owner to fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P50,000.

Motorcycle owners with number plates not in conformity with the provisions of this Act shall renew their registration and apply for the required readable number plate not later than December 31, 2025. 

Under the new law, the LTO is given until June 30, 2026 to produce, release, and issue the number plates as required by this Act. 

After June 30, 2026, the penal provisions regarding the use of bigger, readable, and color-coded number plates as required under this Act shall take effect. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA Integrated News