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RESEARCH PAPER ON

TRANSPORTATION LAW

for:

Dr. Teodoro V. Molina


CPA Economist Legal Practitioner
Professional Lecturer

by:

Montoya, Jacques Evan M.

Navarroza, Angel Jr. C

Semetara, Ma. Richelle G.

Tadifa, Eden G.

Toledo, Madeline S.

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Table of Contents

I. Civil Aeronautics Board 3


II. Civil Aviation Authority Board 7
III. Manila International Airport Authority 9
IV. Maritime Industry Authority 15
V. Office of Transportation Cooperatives 19
VI. Office of Transportation Security 25
VII. Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation 28
VIII. Philippine Coast Guard 34
IX. Philippine Merchant Marina Academy 43
X. Philippine Ports Authority 49
XI. Toll Regulatory Board 53
XII. Air Transportation Office 60
XIII. DOTC Action Agad Center 101
XIV. Land Transportation and Franchise Regulatory Board 113
XV. Land Transportation Office 121
XVI. National Telecommunications Office 155
XVII. A P P E N D I C E S

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CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD

(CAB)
Civil Aeronautics Board
- is the agency of the government mandated to regulate the economic aspect of air
transportation, and shall have the general supervision, control and jurisdiction over air carriers,

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general sales agents, cargo sales agents, and air freight forwarders as well as their property,
property rights, equipment, facilities, and franchise (R.A. No. 776, as amended by P.D. 1462).

WHERE IS CAB LOCATED?


The CAB is located at Old MIA Road, Pasay City, near the Centennial Airport (Terminal II).

WHAT ARE THE PERMITS ISSUED BY THE CAB?

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) is a permit issued by the Board
authorizing a domestic person or entity (60/40 equity) to engage in international and/or domestic,
scheduled and/or non-scheduled air transportation services.A grantee of a CPCN may operate
even without a legislative franchise.

Foreign Air Carriers Permit (FACP) is a permit issued by the Board, and approved by the
President of the Philippines, authorizing a foreign air carrier to engage in foreign air
transportation services.

Letter of Authority - is an approval issued by the CAB authorizing a person or entity to engage
in airfreight forwarder, general sales agent, cargo sales agent and off-line carrier. It is signed by
the Executive Director subject to the ratification of the Board on its scheduled meeting.

REQUIREMENTS IN FILING A COMPLAINT :


R.A. 776
SECTION 13. Conduct of Proceedings. - The Board shall conduct its proceedings in such
manner as will be conducive to the proper dispatch of business and to the ends of justice. All
hearings and investigations before the Civil Aeronautics Board shall be governed by the rules of
procedure adopted by the Board and in the conduct thereof the Board shall not be bound by the
technical rules of evidence.

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 1, SERIES OF 1960


Section 7. Filing of documents

(a) Filing address, date of filing. Documents required by any section of this chapter to be
filed with the Board shall be filed with the Secretary of the Civil Aeronautics Board,
Manila, Philippines. Such documents shall be deemed to be filed on the date on which
they are actually received by the Secretary of the Board.

(b) Formal specifications of documents.


(1) All documents filed under this Chapter shall be on strong, durable paper not larger
than 81/2 by 14 inches in size except that tables, charts and other documents may be

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larger, folded to the size of the document to which they are attached. The left margin
shall be at least 11/2 inches wide, and if the document is bound, it shall be bound on
the left side.
(2) Papers may be reproduced by printing or by any other process, provided the copies
are clear and legible. Appropriate notes or other indications shall be used, so that the
existence of any matter shown in color will be accurately indicated on photostatic
copies.

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CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF THE
PHILIPPINES

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(CAAP)
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is the national aviation authority of the
Philippines and is responsible for implementing policies on civil aviation to assure safe,
economic and efficient air travel. The agency also investigates aviation accidents via its Aircraft
Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board. Formerly Air Transportation Office, it is a
government-owned and controlled corporation attached to the Department of Transportation for
the purpose of policy coordination.

WHERE IS CAAP LOCATED?

CAAP Main Office, NAIA Road, Pasay City

WHAT LAW CREATED CAAP?

Philippine Legislative passed Commonwealth Act No. 168, better known as the Civil Aviation
Law of the Philippines which created the Bureau of Aeronautics.

Republic Act No. 776, otherwise known as the Civil Aeronautics Act of the Philippines
reorganized the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
Executive Order No. 546, the CAA was renamed the Bureau of Air Transportation (BAT)
Executive Order No. 125 renamed the Bureau of Air Transportation the Air Transportation Office
headed by the Assistant Secretary of Air Transportation.
Republic Act No. 9497 renamed the Air Transportation Office the Civil Aviation Authority of the
Philippines headed by the Director General of Civil Aviation.
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF CAAP

Republic Act No. 9497

Establish and prescribe rules and regulations for the inspection and registration of all aircraft
owned and operated in the Philippines and all air facilities;
Establish and prescribe the corresponding rules and regulations for the enforcement of laws
governing air transportation;
Determine, fix and/or prescribe charges and/or rates pertinent to the operation of public air
utility facilities and services;
Administer and operate the Civil Aviation Training Center (CATC);
Operate and maintain national airports, air navigation and other similar facilities in compliance

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to ICAO;
Perform such other powers and functions as may be prescribed by law.

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MANILA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY

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(MIAA)
Manila International Airport Authority

On March 4, 1982, the MIA Division under the Bureau of Air Transportation was abolished by
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 778. In its place, the MANILA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
AUTHORITY (MIAA), was created and vested with the power to administer and operate the
Manila International Airport.
WHERE IS MIAA LOCATED?

Old MIA Road, Pasay City

WHAT ARE THE MANDATES OF MIAA?


Executive Order No. 778, as amended by Executive Order NO. 903 mandates the Manila
International Airport Authority (MIAA) to:
Formulate and adopt for application in the airport internationally acceptable standards of
airport accommodation service;
Upgrade and provide safe, efficient and reliable airport facilities for international and
domestic air travel;
Help encourage and promote international and domestic air traffic in the country as a
means of making the Philippines a center of international and domestic air travel;
Perform other functions as maybe provided by the law while maintaining financial
viability as an autonomous government entity.

REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST FOR GENERAL AVIATION AREAS


1. Company profile
2. Stockholders Composition
3. Latest Audited Financial Statement
4. Business Plan
5. DTI Certificate of Registration
6. SEC Registration
7. Articles of Incorporation

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8. By Laws
9. Mayors Permit/Business Permit
10. SSS Clearance
11. Dole Clearance
12. MIAA Accounting Clearance (for existing concessionaires)
13. Air Agency Certificate duly issued by CAAP.
14. Registration Certificate of aircraft duly authenticated by the CAAP.
15. Airworthiness Certificate of aircraft duly authenticated by the CAAP in the name of the
applicant. (if applicable)
16. Copy of the applicants latest income and business tax returns duly stamped and received by
the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and duly validated with the tax payments thereon.
17. Tax Clearance from the Bureau of Internal Revenue to prove full and timely payment of
taxes.
18. Certification under oath, from responsible officer of the applicant, that it is free and clear of
tax liabilities to the government.
19. Written authority of companys representative, duly notarized. It refers to the authority of the
signing official solely intended for the contract, permit and accreditation: in the case of single
proprietorship, there must be an affidavit of the owner or a Special Power of Attorney; for
Partnership, a partnership resolution from General Manager or President; for Corporation, a
board resolution with Secretarys Certificate; and for joint venture, a resolution signed by all the
joint venture partners.
20. Certification under oath that each of the documents submitted is an authentic and original
copy, or a true and faithful reproduction of the original, complete and that all statements and
information provided therein are true and correct (duly notarized).
21. And such other information/documents that the Authority may require.
REQUIREMENTS FOR FOOD & BEVERAGES:
1. Company profile
2. Stockholders Composition
3. Latest Audited Financial Statement
4. Business Plan
5. DTI Certificate of Registration
6. SEC Registration

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7. Articles of Incorporation
8. By Laws
9. Mayors Permit/Business Permit
10. SSS Clearance
11. Dole Clearance
12. Sanitary Permit
13. MIAA Accounting Clearance (for existing concessionaires)
14. Copy of the applicants latest income and business tax returns duly stamped and received by
the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and duly validated with the tax payments thereon.
15. Tax Clearance from the Bureau of Internal Revenue to prove full and timely payment of
taxes.
16. Certification under oath, from responsible officer of the applicant, that it is free and clear of
tax liabilities to the government.
17. Written authority of companys representative, duly notarized. It refers to the authority of the
signing official solely intended for the contract, permit and accreditation: in the case of single
proprietorship, there must be an affidavit of the owner or a Special Power of Attorney; for
Partnership, a partnership resolution from General Manager or President; for Corporation, a
board resolution with Secretarys Certificate; and for joint venture, a resolution signed by all the
joint venture partners.
18. Certification under oath that each of the documents submitted is an authentic and original
copy, or a true and faithful reproduction of the original, complete and that all statements and
information provided therein are true and correct (duly notarized).
19. And such other information/documents that the Authority may require.
REQUIREMENTS FOR RETAIL & OTHER SERVICES:
1. Company profile
2. Stockholders Composition
3. Latest Audited Financial Statement
4. Business Plan
5. DTI Certificate of Registration
6. SEC Registration
7. Articles of Incorporation

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8. By Laws
9. Mayors Permit/Business Permit
10. SSS Clearance
11. Dole Clearance
12. MIAA Accounting Clearance (for existing concessionaires)
13. Copy of the applicants latest income and business tax returns duly stamped and received by
the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and duly validated with the tax payments thereon.
14. Tax Clearance from the Bureau of Internal Revenue to prove full and timely payment of
taxes.
15. Certification under oath, from responsible officer of the applicant, that it is free and clear of
tax liabilities to the government.
16. Written authority of companys representative, duly notarized. It refers to the authority of the
signing official solely intended for the contract, permit and accreditation: in the case of single
proprietorship, there must be an affidavit of the owner or a Special Power of Attorney; for
Partnership, a partnership resolution from General Manager or President; for Corporation, a
board resolution with Secretarys Certificate; and for joint venture, a resolution signed by all the
joint venture partners.
17. Certification under oath that each of the documents submitted is an authentic and original
copy, or a true and faithful reproduction of the original, complete and that all statements and
information provided therein are true and correct (duly notarized).
18. And such other information/documents that the Authority may require.
REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSPORT SERVICES:
1. Company profile
2. Stockholders Composition
3. Latest Audited Financial Statement
4. Business Plan
5. DTI Certificate of Registration
6. SEC Registration
7. Articles of Incorporation
8. By Laws
9. Mayors Permit/Business Permit

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10. SSS Clearance
11. DOLE Clearance
12. MIAA Accounting Clearance (for existing concessionaires)
13. LTO Certificate of Registration of Vehicles
14. LTO Official Receipt of Vehicles
15. Chattel Mortgage / Bank Certificate (if applicable)
16. DOT Accreditation of Company
17. DOT List of Accreditation of Vehicles
18. Agreement / Contract with Hotel/Travel Agency (for back up transport)
19. Endorsement from Hotel/Travel Agency (for back up transport)
20. Copy of the applicants latest income and business tax returns duly stamped and received by
the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and duly validated with the tax payments thereon.
21. Tax Clearance from the Bureau of Internal Revenue to prove full and timely payment of
taxes.
22. Certification under oath, from responsible officer of the applicant, that it is free and clear of
tax liabilities to the government.
23. Written authority of companys representative, duly notarized. It refers to the authority of the
signing official solely intended for the contract, permit and accreditation: in the case of single
proprietorship, there must be an affidavit of the owner or a Special Power of Attorney; for
Partnership, a partnership resolution from General Manager or President; for Corporation, a
board resolution with Secretarys Certificate; and for joint venture, a resolution signed by all the
joint venture partners.
24. Certification under oath that each of the documents submitted is an authentic and original
copy, or a true and faithful reproduction of the original, complete and that all statements and
information provided therein are true and correct (duly notarized).
25. And such other information/documents that the Authority may require.

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MARITIME INDUSTRY AUTHORITY

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(MARINA)

Maritime Industry Authority

Address: 6th Floor Parkview Plaza, Taft Avenue corner T.M. Kalaw Street, Ermita, Manila,
Philippines

Marina provides to the Public

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), to integrate the development, promotion and
regulation of the maritime industry in the country. With the creation of the Ministry (now
Department) of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) by virtue of Executive Order No.
546, the MARINA was attached to the DOTC for policy and program coordination on 23 July
1979.

Filing a complaint

Applications Filed with Legal Service


1. Application for Incorporation of Maritime Enterprises with SEC

2. Application for endorsement to the DOLE for the issuance of AEP to Foreign
Nationals/Expatriates (Land-based employed in Maritime Enterprises)

3. Application for endorsement to the DOF for exemption from payment of Customs duties
and Taxes of Bareboat Chartered vessels under PDs 760/866/1711

4. Application for endorsement to other government agencies.

5. Endorsement to the DOJ relative to the issuance of AEP

Information disseminated to the Public

VISION

A premiere maritime administration in Southeast Asia propelling the Philippine maritime


industry to global competitiveness

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MISSION

To effectively administer an integrated and sustainable maritime industry

Law Created MARINA

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 546

DIRECTING THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE TO UNDERTAKE ACTIVE


SUPPORT TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES IN INTERNAL
SECURITY OPERATIONS FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF INSURGENCY AND OTHER
SERIOUS THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY, AMENDING CERTAIN
PROVISIONS OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 110 SERIES OF 1999 AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

WHEREAS, Section 12 of Republic Act No. 6975, as amended by Republic Act No. 8551,
provides that the primary responsibility involving the suppression of insurgency and other
serious threats to national security rests with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and that
the Philippine National Police (PNP) shall, through information gathering and performance of its
ordinary police functions, support the AFP on matters involving the suppression of insurgency,
except in cases where the President shall call on the PNP to support the AFP in combat
operations;

WHEREAS, the National Democratic Front, the Communist Party of the Philippines and its
military arm, the New Peoples Army, have been waging an armed struggle against the
Government and the Filipino people for more than thirty years;

WHEREAS, the ongoing insurgency has a negative impact on the economy and resolving the
insurgency will foster a climate conducive to economic growth and national development;

WHEREAS, to effectively address this threat, there is a need for a whole of government
approach to ensure sustained, consistent, integrated and coordinated international security
measures against the Communist Terrorist Movement and other organized elements/groups
engaged in armed offensives against the Government;

NOW, THEREFORE, GLORIA M. ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines,


by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the following:

SECTION 1. The PNP shall support the AFP in combat operations involving the suppression of
insurgency and other serious threats to national security.

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SECTION 2. In the exercise of its responsibility, subject to the concurrence of the appropriate
Local Chief Executive through the Local Peace and Order Council, the PNP is hereby authorized
to deputize the barangay tanods as force multipliers in the implementation of the peace and order
plan in the area.

SECTION 3. The Department of the Interior and Local Government shall exert efforts in
securing and institutionalizing funding support from Local Government Units. For this purpose,
governors and mayors, as deputized representatives of the National Police Commission in their
respective territorial jurisdiction, and in relation to their sworn duty to implement Section 16 of
the Local Government Code, shall ensure that sufficient funds shall be appropriated in their
annual budget for the operational and logistical support of the concerned PNP units for the
implementation of this Executive Order.

SECTION 4. The Local Chief Executives, in coordination with the Local Peace and Order
Councils, shall include in the integrated area/Community Public Safety Plan of their respective
city/municipality, the priority program of action/thrust in resolving the insurgency and other
serious threats to national security and ensure appropriation thereof for effective implementation
of this Executive Order.

SECTION 5. All executive issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are
inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby revoked, amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 6. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 14th of July, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Six.

Requirements to secure the authority.

Under the Article XII, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that:

Sec. 11. No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public
utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations
organized under the laws of the Philippines at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned
by such citizens, nor shall such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or
for a longer period than fifty years. Neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except
under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the Congress
when the common good so requires. The State shall encourage equity participation in public
utilities by the general public. The participation of foreign investors in the governing body of any
public utility enterprise shall be limited to their proportionate share in its capital, and all the

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executive and managing officers of such corporation or associations must be citizens of
the Philippines.

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OFFICE OF TRANSPORTATION COOPERATIVES

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(OTC)

Office of Transportation Cooperatives

Address: Ben-Lor, 1184 Quezon Ave, Paligsahan Diliman, Quezon City, 1103 Metro Manila

Brief History:

OTC Historical Background


THE TRANSPORT COOPERATIVE OF THE PHILIPPINES:

1973

Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Three.

It was the fourth year of the turbulent decade of the seventies. The decade that is remembered in
our history for the series of crises, both political and economic, that our people had to
face and endure and with combination of grit and luck - eventually weathered.

Towards the last quarter of that year, one such crisis loomed large on the horizon, the kind with a
potential for crippling the economy the impending oil crunch of 74.

The Genesis
October 9, 1973

When the subject of that first oil crisis was taken up in the cabinet meeting of October 9, 1973,
President Ferdinand Marcos called the attention of his Cabinet to the fact the transportation,
along with power generation, is one of the principal sectors utilizing oil that would be hard hit by
the impending crunch. With a sense both of urgency and concern, he began to think aloud for
solution. He was emphatic in his first admonition: the jeepney drivers and operators should not
be deprived of their livelihood. He then remembered what he must have said more than once
before on the subject and reiterated that the solution was to organize them into cooperatives.

Once that magic word was uttered as though by cue, the other ideas cane out in quick
succession: make the jeepney drivers and operators co-owners of the business allow them to
own bigger units, extend to them loans, and give them incentives, such as priority in the grant of
permits or franchises.

Chairman RVR and October 19, 1973

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Marcos then ordered the creation of a committee under the Office of the President to
oversee the organization of transport cooperatives among jeepney drivers.

He appointed Assistant Executive Secretary Roberto V. Reyes to be its Chairman. Ten


days after that fateful meeting, or on October 19, 1973, Presidential Memorandum Order
No. 395 was issued to formally create that committee and set down its mandates.

The Transport Cooperative Program

Thus, the transport cooperative program was born.

For its objective, the program aims to gear the cooperative organization and system
towards :

1. The integration and rationalization of the public transit and transport system in
order to effect economy and efficiency in the movement of
passengers and goods,

2. The amelioration of the social and economic conditions of public utility vehicle
drivers, and

3. The mitigation of the effects of a serious and impending shortage of energy.

The ten-member committee thereafter immediately went about its tasks and on the
programs first year, it was able to organize the first 11 cooperatives in Metro Manila.

1974

On July 10, 1974, Memorandum Order No. 438 was issued to expand the coverage and
scope of the program. It has tasked the CTC to include the provinces in its campaign and
opened the membership of the transport cooperatives to vehicle owners or operators.

This latter move, if controversial, had nonetheless its share of tactical brilliance: it forged
a working relationship between the small investors in the public transport industry and
their industrial partners. This unique mix, which would later also include the allied
workers, became a model for fostering industrial peace in the industry, even as it
enhanced the growth of transport cooperatives.

For with this arrangement, a ready forum through the cooperative had been provided for
ventilating their grievances against each other. And with their pooled resources placed
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under the collective management, if not ownership of the cooperative, not only the
viability but also the sustainability of their business enterprises had been given assurance.

By 1977,

when the committee had organize 33 cooperatives, 24 in Metro Manila and 9 in the
provinces, with a total membership of close of 10,000 drivers and operators, an
agreement had been entered into among the Board of Transportation, Department of
Local Government and Community Development and the CTC, whereby the transport
cooperatives applications for certificates of public convenience were required to pass
through the CTC first for its endorsement. This was seen both as a means to assist the
cooperatives and as a regulatory measure that would help carry out effectively its task to
rationalize the public transport system. Similar agreement was later signed between the
OTC and the Land Transportation Commission, an agreement that to date remains the
basis of the joint support the OTC and the LTFRB for the program.

SEEKING IDENTITY

It was also in 1977 that the now familiar red and blue diamond logo that serves to
identify the transport cooperatives and their vehicle was adopted. The logo which joins
two triangles at their respective bases very well symbolizes the two sets of linkages and
networking involved, first in the cooperative organization and activities, and second, in
their operation as public service entities. On the one hand, there is the linkage among the
operators, the drivers and the allied workers, a relationship rooted in the principle that
they are partners in the industry and as such, they should equitably share in the
responsibilities of production as well as in the fruits of their labor and investments.

On the other hand, as grantees of the privilege to engage in public transport service, the
cooperatives necessarily have to deal, and deal fairly, with the government which grants
that privilege and the riding public which patronizes their service.

At the advent of the eighties, the transport cooperatives organized by the CTC grew
substantially to 59 primaries with 14,523 members operating or managing 5,813 public
utility vehicles.

In 1981,

a new dimension in the transport cooperative services manifested itself from the
turbulence that spilled over from the past decade. In the face of the transport strikes
declared by their more radical counterpart organizations, the transport cooperatives,

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mindful of the condition in their CPCs to render service to the public at all times, refused
to participate and even fielded their units in areas where transportation services had been
rendered scarce or unavailable. This development enhanced the partnership between
government and the transport cooperatives which was to blossom in later years and lead
to many joint efforts and activities that would mutually benefit them.

THE TRANSFER TO DOTC

Also in this year, Executive Order No. 708 was issued whereby the Committee on
Transportation Cooperatives (CTC) was transferred from the Office of the President and
attached instead to the Ministry of Communications. The move was taken to enhance
governments efficiency in its supervision of the facilities and services of the transport
cooperatives.

In the ensuing years, the steadily growing transport cooperative movement soon saw the
need for a full-fledged office that will supervise and regulate as well as provide
developmental direction and impetus to its activities. Thus on May 28 1983 Executive
Order No. 898 was issued by the President Marcos reorganizing the CTC into the Office
of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC), which continues to be attached to the Ministry
(later Department) of Transportation and Communications.

Executive Secretary Roberto V. Reyes had to be weaned away from Malacaang to be the
full-time chairman of the newly created office and continue his stewardship of the
program which flourished under his leadership during the first decade of its existence. It
is interesting to note that the first Board of Directors of OTC had among its prominent
members, no less that President Fidel V. Ramos, who was then the Chief of the Philippine
Constabulary, to whom a slot in the Board is reserved by Executive Order No. 398.

1983 to 1988 THE ADJUSTMENT PERIOD

The period from 1983 to 1988 turned out to be a trial and adjustment period. Growth in
terms of number of cooperatives and members slowed down a bit. Evidently, the
intervening events from the assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983 to the
EDSA Revolution in 1986: had affected both the momentum of the program and the
morale of the leadership of the transport cooperative movement. Considering that the
program was a brainchild of former President Marcos, not a few incoming political
leaders eyed with suspicion the intent behind its establishment and its closeness to the
Marcoses. It was to take some time before the soothing out of feelings was to be
achieved, and not until after the cooperatives themselves have shown their non-partisan
character and their faithful adherence to the cooperative philosophy and tenets.

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During the same period, however, specifically in 1985, OTC was able to put in place a
more permanent foundation for a sustainable cooperative foundation for a sustainable
cooperative program for the transport workers. DOTC approved and OTC promulgated
Administrative Order No. 85-001 setting comprehensive guidelines for the promotion,
organization, registration, supervision, regulation and development of transport
cooperatives. But it also took sometimes for the existing cooperatives to adjust their
organization and operations to some structural changes contemplated in this issuance.

A management staff separate from the Board of Directors could not be hired by some
cooperatives which felt that the salaries for the staff would be a big drain from their
resources. Those who were able to adjust, however, generally grew to be more stable and
economically progressive as full-time attention by professional managers was now given
to their cooperative enterprises.

Services: Policy Formation, Supervision, Development of all transport service cooperatives


nationwide.

Requirements in filing a Complaint:

Brochures or information materials disseminated to the public:

Particular Law Creating such Agency: Executive Order No. 898 Dated May 28, 1983

Requirements in securing authority to operate public utility license:

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OFFICE OF TRANSPORTATION SECURITY

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(OTC)

Office of Transportation Security

Address: Aurora Boulevard corner Andrews Avenue Aurora Blvd, Pasay, 1300 Metro Manila

Historical Background

A brief history about the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) - which traces its origins from
the National Action Committee on Anti-Hijacking or NACAH. The 1976 hijacking of a
Philippine Air Lines BAC-111 plane from Zamboanga, which resulted in the death of 10
passengers and three (3) hijackers, ushered in the creation of the national Action Committee on
Anti-Hijacking (NACAH), through the issuance of Presidential Letter of Instruction Number 339
on April 28, 1976, with the Secretary of National Defense as Chairman.

Because of the enactment of RA 6975 in December of 1990, the chairmanship of the NACAH
was transferred from the SND to the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG) through Executive Order No. 452 issued on April 5, 1991.

On May 18, 1995, EO 246 further reconstituted NACAH into National Action Committee on
Anti-Hijacking and Anti-Terrorism (NACAHT) in response to the need to monitor the activities
of the suspected terrorists and to develop the capabilities of local law enforcement agencies to
contain the threat of terrorism.

However, to forestall confusion that will arise with the overlapping functions of the Philippine
center for Transnational Crime and the National Action Committee on Anti-Hijacking and Anti-
Terrorism, EO 336 was issued on January 5, 2001, which reconstituted NACAHT into the
National Council for Civil Aviation Security (NCCAS), this time to provide and establish a more
effective mechanism primarily contain aviation-related terrorist acts.

The Terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 necessitated key changes to the air travel industry
which saw heightened security. Among there requirements was the need to comply with the
Standard 3.1.2 of the ICAO Annex 17, Amendment 11 which provides that Each Contracting
State shall designate and specify to ICAO an appropriate authority within its administration to be
responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of the National Civil Aviation
Security Programme.

In 2004, two (2) Executive Orders, EO 277 and EO 311 were issued which created the Office for
Transportation Security (OTS).

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Services:

Approval of Airport Operators Security Programme (AOSP)


Approval of Airport Security Programme (ASP)
Issuance of International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC)
Issuance of National Ship Security Certificate (NSSC)
Issuance of Statement of Compliance for Port Facility (SCPF)
Train and Certify Transportation Security Personnel

Requirements in Filing a Complaint:

Brochures or information materials disseminated to the public:

Particular Law Creating such Agency: Executive Order No. 277, Executive Order No. 311

Requirements in securing authority to operate public utility license:

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PHILIPPINE AEROSPACE DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION

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(PADC)

Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation

Address: PADC Hangaar 2, General Aviation Area, Domestic Road 1300, Pasay, Metro Manila

Services:

1. Design, assembly, manufacture and sale of all forms of aircraft and aviation /aerospace
devices, equipment or contraptions, studies or researches for innovations and improvements
there upon.

2. Development of local capabilities in maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO), and


modification of aerospace and associated flight and ground equipment and components thereof in
order to provide technical services and overhaul support to: government agencies owning
aerospace equipment, the Philippine Air Force / for eign air forces , the national airline / foreign
airline companies, and to the aviation industry in general.

3. Operation and provision of air transport services, whether for cargo or passengers on a
scheduled or charter basis, on domestic and/or international scale

Brochures or information materials disseminated to the public:

Particular Law Creating such Agency: The Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation
was created on 5 September 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree (PD) 286 as restructured and
amended by P.D. 696 for purposes of undertaking all manner of activity, business or
development projects to establish a reliable aviation and aerospace industry

Law creating PADC:

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 286 September 5, 1973

AUTHORIZING THE CREATION OF A PHILIPPINE AEROSPACE DEVELOPMENT


CORPORATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

WHEREAS, in order to maximize the national utility of the aviation and aerospace industry, a
definite policy for its rationalization has become imperative;

WHEREAS, such a rationalization calls for a positive government participation in development


project for study and research in and assembly and manufacture of appropriate aircraft or devices

31
and for the improvement of existing facilities for technical and maintenance support for such
aircraft or devices;

WHEREAS, government initiative in and control of the industry in aircraft assembly and
manufacture and technical, repair and maintenance support facilities shall result in substantial
savings of valuable foreign exchange reserves and optimum utilization of skilled manpower in
the country;

WHEREAS, the public utility and public service elements of the industry can, thus, be enhanced
by standardized and modernized flight and ground equipment and a reasonable fare structure that
shall allow air travel for a larger segment of the population;

WHEREAS, such a government venture shall best serve the interests of national security and
facilitate the performance of other governmental functions, such as mail service, relief and other
civic undertakings;

WHEREAS, a modernized and reliable aircraft technical repair and maintenance support system
and a developed air craft assembly and manufacture industry shall likewise respond to the market
demands of neighboring countries in Southeast Asia;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, by virtue of the powers vested in me by


the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant
to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972 and General Order No. 1 dated September
22, 1972, as amended, and in order to effect the desired changes and reforms in the social and
economic structure of our society, do hereby decree and order the creation and organization of a
body corporate and politic to be known as the Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation,
in accordance with the following:

Section 1. The Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation, hereinafter referred to as the


Corporation, shall be governed by this Decree and its by-laws, as authorized hereunder, and shall
have succession for a period of fifty years from and after the date of the approval of this Decree.
The principal office of the Corporation shall be in the City of Manila.

1. To undertake all manner of activity, business or development projects for the


establishment of a reliable aviation and aerospace industry, including the assembly and
manufacture of all forms of aircraft, device, equipment or contraption and studies or
researches for innovations and improvement thereon.

2. To engage in the maintenance, repair/overhaul, and modification of aerospace and


associated flight and ground equipment and components thereof in order to provide

32
technical services and overhaul support to the Philippine Air Force, the national airline,
foreign airline companies, foreign air forces and to the aviation industry in general.

Section 2. Powers of the Corporation. In order to accomplish the foregoing corporate purposes,
the Corporation shall be vested with the following powers:

1. To prepare the corporate by-laws;

2. To carry on any other lawful business whatsoever in pursuance of or in connection


with the foregoing primary purposes;

3. To enter into, make and perform and carry out contracts of every kind and description
for the foregoing corporate purposes with any person, firm, association or corporation; to
have one or more officers in and outside of the Philippines, and to conduct its business
and exercise its powers throughout and in any part of the Republic of the Philippines
and/or in any and all foreign countries, states and territories;

4. To hold public agricultural lands and mineral lands in excess of the areas permitted to
private corporations, associations and persons by the laws of the Philippines for a period
not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable by the President of the Philippines for
another twenty-five years.

5. To acquire, hold, mortgage and alienate personal and real property in the Philippines or
elsewhere;

6. To purchase, hold, alienate, mortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of the shares of the
capital stock of, or any bond, security, of other corporations or associations of this or any
other country; and while the owner of said stock to exercise all the rights of ownership,
including the right to vote thereon;

7. To execute any and all acts which a partnership or a natural person is authorized to
perform under the laws now existing or which may hereafter be enacted; and

8. To perform such other acts as it may deem appropriate for the proper enforcement of
this Decree.

Section 3. Capital Stock. The initial authorized capital stock of the Corporation shall be Fifty
Million (P50,000,000.00) Pesos, divided into five hundred thousand shares, having a par value of
one hundred (P100.00) pesos no share of stock shall be transferred at less than par.

Such Capital stock shall be subscribed to, paid for and voted upon as follows:

33
(a) The amount of ten million (P10,000,000.00) pesos shall be subscribed and paid for by
the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and for which purpose, said amount is
hereby set aside and appropriated from the proceeds of the General Fund not otherwise
appropriated.

(b) The amount of twenty million (P20,000,000.00) shall be subscribed and paid for by
the Development Bank of the Philippines.

(c) The amount of twenty million (P20,000,000.00) pesos shall be offered for
subscription to domestic and foreign investors.

Twenty five per centum of the value of all stock subscribed under paragraphs (b) and (c) shall be
paid for at the time of subscription, and the balance thereof shall be subject to call upon a
majority vote of the Board of Directors, with the approval of the Chairman.

The voting power pertaining to stock subscribed by the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines shall be vested in the President or in such person or persons as he may designate.

The voting power pertaining to stock subscribed by the government financial institutions under
paragraph (b) shall be vested in the Chairman, Board of Governors.

Each share of stock shall represent one vote and any agreement, contract, arrangement, scheme
or plan that shall transfer voting rights to any person other than the stockholders is prohibited.

Section 4. Board of Directors. The Corporation shall be governed and its activities shall be
directed, controlled and managed by a Board of Directors which shall be composed of four (4) ex
officio members, namely, the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of National Defense, the
Chairman, Board of Governors of the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Chairman,
Board of Investments and three (3) members to be appointed by the President of the President.
The three appointive directors shall each serve for a term of four (4) years. The President shall
appoint a Chairman from among the seven directors.

Section 5. Functions and Duties of the Board of Directors

(1) The Board shall appoint and fix the salaries of a General Manager and such other
officials as may be necessary for the internal administration of the Corporation.

(2) The Board shall establish such number of Divisions in the Corporation as may be
necessary for the accomplishment of its corporate purposes.

(3) The Board shall submit to the President of the Philippines and shall publish an annual
report of the condition of the Corporation before the end of February of each year.

34
Section 6. The Auditor. The Chairman of the Commission on Audit shall appoint a representative
who shall be the auditor of the Corporation. He shall likewise appoint the necessary personnel to
assist said representative in the performance of his duties. The salaries of the auditor and his staff
shall be fixed by the Chairman of the Commission on Audit with the advice of the Board of
Directors and said salaries, and other expenses for the auditors's office shall be paid by the
Corporation. The Auditor of the Corporation and personnel under him may be removed only by
the Chairman of the Commission on Audit.

The Auditor must be a certified public accountant with at least ten years experience as certified
public accountant. No relative of any member of the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the
Commission on Audit within the fourth degree of consanguinity and affinity shall be appointed
as such representative.

Section 7. Exemptions from tax and customs duties. The Corporation shall be exempt from all
national, provincial, municipal and city taxes and assessments now in force or hereafter
established for a period of five (5) years from the date it commences operations.

The importation by the Corporation of all such equipment, materials, devices and other items to
be used or necessary for the purposes authorized under this Decree shall be fully exempt from all
customs duties and all other taxes, assessments and charges related to such importation.

Section 8. Effectivity. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval. The Chairman of the
Board, shall within thirty (30) days from the date of his appointment, call for an organizational
meeting of the Board in order that corporate business may immediately be commenced.

Done in the City of Manila, this 5th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred
and seventy-three.

35
PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD

(PCG)

36
Philippine Coast Guard

ADDRESS: 139 25th Street Port Area, Manila 1018, Philippines

BRIEF HISTORY:

The Philippine Coast Guard is the oldest and only humanitarian armed service in the
Philippines. Its beginnings could be traced back to the early 20th century when coast guarding
was related to the protection of the customs services of the country and in patrolling the
coastlines and harbors.

When the Americans came in 1898, one of the first steps that the military government
undertook was the reopening of the port and customs facilities of Manila. Soon after, the civilian
Insular Government, through the Philippine Commission, enacted a law on 17 October 1901 that
created the Bureau of Coast Guard and Transportation, which was placed under the Department
of Commerce and Police. The Captain of the Port was designated as Bureau Director.

The lighthouse service was placed under the Bureau. In 1902, the Coast Guard fleet of 15
streamers from China and Japan was established and were assigned for the lighthouse service
inspection trips of top government officials, for transport to Culion Island, for patrolling against
illegal entry of aliens, and for troop movement of the Philippine Constabulary.

The Bureau of Coast Guard and Transportation was abolished on 26 October 1905 and
the Bureau of Navigation took over its functions. The Bureau of Navigation was authorized to
create a commissioned and enlisted service, and to adopt its own manual of court martial
patterned after the US Navy.

Subsequently, however, the Bureau was also abolished on 19 December 1913 and the
organization and its functions were transferred to the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of
Public Works until the establishment of the Commonwealth Government. After gaining
independence from the United States, the Philippine government ceded some of the coast guard
functions, such as the revenue cutter and lighthouse services, to the Philippine Naval Patrol,
which eventually became the Philippine Navy. A Coast Guard unit was activated within the
Philippine Navy to implement these functions.

On 6 August 1967, the Philippine Congress enacted Republic Act 5173 of the Philippine
Coast Guard Law, which made the PCG a major unit of the Philippine Navy under a flag officer.
The PCG was activated on 10 October 1967 and its coast guard functions were transferred from
the navy.

37
The civilian nature of the PCG functions led to the separation of the Coast Guard from
the Philippine Navy on 30 March 1998 by virtue of Executive Order 475 signed by President
Fidel Ramos. It order effectively transferred the PCG from the Department of National Defense
to the Office of the President, and eventually to the Department of Transportation and
Communications (DOTC) on 15 April 1998 by virtue of Executive Order 477.

These executive orders provided inter alia that the PCG shall continue to the agency
primarily responsible for the promotion of safety of life and property at sea and the protection of
the maritime environment as mandated under the Philippine Coast Guard Law and Presidential
Decrees 600, 601, 602, and 979, as a mended.

The transformation of the PCG into a non-military organization has a tremendous impact
and significance. Its civilian character has allowed it to receive offers of vessels, equipment,
technology, services, cooperation and other needed assistance from other countries, something
which would not be readily offered to a military agency.

With enactment of Republic Act 9993, also known as the Coast Guard Law of 2009, as
well as its implementing rules and regulations, the PCG has been vested with the necessary
authority and responsibility to perform preventive measures in ensuring the safety of merchant
vessels. The new law also strengthened PCGs authority to meet new challenges and increasing
demands for marine resources, technological advancement and climate change. Further, the law
has defined the PCGs rightful niche in the bureaucracy as the premier maritime agency and its
vital role in nation building.

SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE PUBLIC:

- MARSAF
The Philippine Coast Guard is the countrys vanguard against the entry of unsafe foreign
vessels into the country through its Port State Control. At present, the Philippine Coast
Guard has seven (7) PSC Centers and fifteen (15) PSC Divisions all throughout the
archipelago. The PSC Center in Manila has the bulk of all inspections based on frequency
of foreign ship calls.

Pursuant to RA 9993, the Philippine Coast Guard is mandated to enforce regulations in


accordance with all relevant maritime international conventions, treaties or instruments of
which the government is signatory and national laws.

MARITIME SAFETY or MARSAF function is designed to help prevent or minimize


unnecessary loss of lives and properties at sea.

38
The seaworthiness of every vessel leaving the port is ensured through the intensified
Mandatory Pre-departure Inspection which include the compliance of vessels to safety
standards and prevention of vessels from sailing for failure to comply with the standards;
conduct of random Emergency Readiness Evaluation and Operational Readiness
Evaluation in the ports; conduct of regular vessel safety inspections, and publication of
Notice to Mariners (NOTAM), and the implementation and enforcement of navigational
rules and designation of sea lanes, among others.

Further, the PCG is also responsible in issuing permits and supervises all marine salvage
operations. It is mandated to destroy or tow floating hazards to navigation such as, but
not limited to illegal fish traps and vessels.

Moreover, navigational safety is ensured by operating and/or maintaining and servicing


565 lighthouses and more than 44 navigational buoys around the country which guide
and ensures safe voyage to mariners.

- MARSEC

Maritime Security is another important function of the PCG. Considering the archipelagic
character of the country, it is vital to enhance the security of its different maritime zones
to protect the integrity as a nation. In the performance of this function, the PCG
contributes to maintain good order at sea by conducting regular patrols and surveillance
for the safety of navigation of ships, to safeguard ships from illegal acts and to promote
freedom of navigation.

The PCG is likewise mandated to secure exploration and resource utilization activities
within the country's maritime jurisdiction.

In its Sea Marshal Program, the PCG manages composite security forces composed of
AFP, PNP and PCG elements to protect voyages of passenger-laden vessels in domestic
routes. The Coast Guard also boasts of a newly established nationwide K-9 unit
composed of highly trained sniffing dogs deployed in the major ports throughout the
country.

- MARSAR

The Philippine Coast Guard, in accordance with the Convention of Safety of Life at Sea
(SOLAS), is the national maritime search and rescue service of the country. The Coast
Guard Action Center (CGAC) at the PCG Headquarters in Manila, by virtue of the
current functions and facilities, serves as the coordinating centers for all search and
rescue operations. The twelve Coast Guard Districts are designated as Maritime Rescue
Coordinating Council (MRCC) within their areas of responsibility while the 59 Coast

39
Guard Stations are designated as Maritime Rescue Sub-Centers (MRSC). The
detachments under these stations are designated as SAR units.
The PCGs SAR organization maintains constantly-manned watch centers that operate 24
hours a day, continuously monitoring distress frequencies and conducting coastal foot and
seaborne patrol within their area of responsibility. There is at least one division or
squadron of Coast Guard Auxiliary in each MRSC where watch can be set and assistance
can be obtained when required. Likewise, at least one Deployable Response Team
composed of Special Operations Group, Medical Team, K-9 and rescue swimmers is
organized at each Coast Guard District or MRCC which can be dispatched immediately
to any maritime and land base search and rescue operations.

- MARLEN

The PCG is likewise mandated to conduct MARITIME LAW ENFORCEMENT


(MARLEN) and implement laws on fisheries (and poaching), immigration, tariff and
customs, forestry, firearms and explosives, human trafficking, dangerous drugs and
controlled chemicals, and to implement the revised penal code and all other applicable
laws within the countrys maritime jurisdiction and battle transnational crimes.

The PCG is authorized to board and inspect all watercrafts suspected to be involved in or
used in illegal trade. PCG personnel are also deemed agents of BFAR, Immigration,
Customs, DENR, PDEA, and INTERPOL in the performance of its MARLEN function.

As a maritime organization under RA 9993 , it is deputized by 21 government agencies


to perform maritime law enforcement functions directed towards the suppression of
piracy, smuggling, poaching, illegal fishing, illegal entry, human smuggling, illegal
logging, drug trafficking, gun running and terrorist activities.

- MAREP

The Philippines is a signatory to IMO Conventions on Marine Pollution of 1973 and 1978
(MARPOL 73/78). The Philippine Coast Guard under RA 9993 is the sole agency
responsible for the Philippine implementation of the Conventions with regards to oil
pollution, prevention, mitigation and control through the conduct of marine pollution
monitoring and control, enhancement of PCG capability and oil spill response operations
and enforcement of all marine environmental laws and regulations.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5173

40
AN ACT CREATING A PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD, PRESCRIBING ITS POWERS
AND FUNCTIONS, APPROPRIATING THE NECESSARY FUNDS THEREFOR, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
SECTION 1. Coast Guards; Objectives.There is hereby created in the Philippine Navy
a major unit to be known as Philippine Coast Guard which shall have the following
general objectives:
(a) To enforce or assist in the enforcement of all applicable laws upon the high seas and
waters subject to the jurisdiction of the Republic of the Philippines;
(b) To enforce laws, promulgate and administer regulations for the promotion of safety of
life and property within the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines; and
(c) To develop, establish, maintain and operate, with due regard to the requirements of
national defense, aids to maritime navigation and rescue facilities for the promotion of
safety on and over the high seas and waters. Subject to the jurisdiction of the Philippines.
SEC. 2. Board of Visitors.A Board of Visitors is created which shall have visitorial and
policy-making powers to be composed of the Flag Officer-in-Command of the Philippine
Navy, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Commissioner of the
Bureau of Customs, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the
Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, the President of the Filipino Shipowners
Association, and the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard who will act as ex-
officio member.
SEC. 3. Specific Functions.The Philippine Coast Guard shall perform the following
functions:
(a) To prevent and suppress illegal entry, smuggling, other customs frauds and violations
of other maritime laws that may be committed within the waters subject to the
jurisdiction of the Republic of the Philippines, and for this purpose surveillance by the
Philippine Coast Guard may be made on vessels entering and/or leaving Philippine
territory;
(b) To assist in the suppression of fishing by means of dynamite, explosives or toxic
substances or other methods as may be declared destructive by the proper authorities;
(c) To promulgate and enforce rules for lights, signals, speed, steering, sailing, passing,
anchorage, movement and towlines of vessels and lights and signals on bridges;
(d) To approve plans for the construction, repair, or alteration of vessels; approve
materials, equipment and appliances of vessels; approve the classification of vessels;
inspect vessels and their equipment and appliances; register all types of motorized
watercraft plying in Philippine waters; issue certificates of inspection and of permits
indicating the approval of vessels for operation; issue certificates of Philippine registry of
vessels; administer load line requirements; promulgate and enforce other provisions for
the safety of life and property on vessels; and determine the numbering of undocumented
vessels: Provided, That certification and approval of any plans, equipment and any vessel

41
by internationally known classification societies which are recognized by the Philippine
Government shall be deemed to have complied with this section;
(e) To issue licenses and certificates to officers, pilots, major and minor patrons and
seamen, as well as suspend and revoke such licenses and certificates;
(f) To investigate marine casualties and disasters including those arising from marine
protests filed with the Bureau of Customs relative to the liability of shipowners and
officers;
(g) To enforce laws, rules and regulations governing manning, citizenship and mustering
and drilling of crews requirements, control of logbooks, shipment, discharge, protection,
and welfare of merchant seamen;
(h) To enforce laws requiring the performance of duties of shipowners and officers after
accidents;
(i) To prescribe and enforce regulations for outfitting and operation of motorboats and the
licensing of motorboat operators;
(j) To regulate regattas and marine parades;
(k) To render aid to distressed persons or vessels on the high seas and on waters subject to
the jurisdiction of the Philippines, and, in this connection, the Philippine Coast Guard
may perform any and all acts necessary to rescue and aid persons; furnish clothing, food,
lodging, medicine and other necessary supplies and services to persons succored; protect,
save, and take charge of all property saved from marine disasters until such property is
delivered to persons authorized to receive it or is otherwise disposed of in accordance
with law or applicable regulations; and collect and take charge of bodies of those who
may perish in such disasters;
(l) To develop, establish, maintain, and operate aids to maritime navigation. In the
performance of these functions, the Philippine Coast Guard is authorized to destroy or
tow in port sunken or floating dangers to navigation;
(m) To supervise nautical schools with reference to activities relative to navigation,
seamanship, marine engineering and other allied matters, in coordination with the
Department of Education;
(n) To perform functions pertaining to maritime communications which are not
specifically delegated to some other office or department; and
(o) To assist, within its capabilities and upon request of the appropriate authorities, other
Government agencies in the performance of their functions, within the waters subject to
the jurisdiction of the Philippines, relating to matters and activities not specifically
mentioned in this section: Provided, That in the exercise of these functions, personnel of
the Philippine Coast Guard shall be deemed to be acting as agents of the particular
department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality charged with the enforcement and
administration of the particular law. Members of the Philippine Coast Guard are peace
officers for all purposes of this Act and shall be, and shall act, as law enforcement agents
of the Bureau of Customs, and the Bureau of Immigration, the Bureau of Internal
Revenue, the Fisheries Commission, and such other departments, bureaus or offices in the
enforcement of pertinent laws, rules and regulations.

42
SEC. 4. Organization; Administration.The Philippine Coast Guard shall be headed by a
Commandant who shall be a Flag Officer. Subject to the approval of the Secretary of
National Defense, the Flag Officer-in-Command, Philippine Navy, shall organize the
Philippine Coast Guard into operational units or subordinate commands and equip the
same as may be necessary for effective exercise of the functions and duties vested upon it
by law, and shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for its administration. The
Philippine Coast Guard shall be administered and maintained as a separate unit of the
Philippine Navy, and it shall be specially trained and equipped for the effective discharge
of police duties at sea.
The Marine Safety Division, including the Naval Architecture and Engineering Section,
the Maritime Safety Inspection Section, the Registration and Licensing Section, and the
functions of the Hulls and Boilers Division, the Marine Board of Inquiry as existing in
the Bureau of Customs, and all other agencies or instrumentalities of the Government
presently performing any of the functions provided for in subparagraphs (c) to (n),
inclusive, of Section three of this Act, are hereby transferred with their personnel,
records, files, supplies, equipment, furniture, funds and other properties to the Philippine
Coast Guard: Provided, That no person shall be deprived of his office, employment or
rank, or suffer any diminution of his salary by operation of this Act. The Lighthouse
Service of the Philippine Navy is, likewise, transferred to the Philippine Coast Guard.
Personnel transferred to the Philippine Coast Guard shall continue to be governed by the
Civil Service Law and other existing laws relating to their individual status, rights,
emoluments and benefits.
SEC. 5. Unauthorized Aids to Maritime Navigation.No person, association or
corporation shall establish, erect, or maintain any aid to maritime navigation without first
obtaining authorization from the Philippine Coast Guard in accordance with applicable
regulations.
SEC. 6. Interference with Aids to Navigation.It shall be unlawful for any person,
association or corporation, to remove, change the location of, obstruct, wilfully damage,
make fast to, or interfere with any aid to maritime navigation.
SEC. 7. Penal Provisions.Any person, association or corporation who violate any
provision of this Act, or the rules and regulations made thereunder, shall upon conviction,
be punished with a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than five hundred
pesos or by imprisonment of not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or
both: Provided, That, in case the violation is committed by an association or corporation,
the penalty herein prescribed shall be imposed on the responsible officers or directors
thereof: Provided, finally, That nothing in this Act shall prevent the Philippine Coast
Guard from providing administrative penalties for violation of any regulation that it
promulgates.
SEC. 8. To carry out the purposes of this Act, there is hereby appropriated, out of any
funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of fifteen million
three hundred twenty-seven thousand five hundred pesos for the purchase of watercraft,

43
personnel services, requirement for maintenance and other operating expenses: Provided,
That sixty thousand pesos shall be used exclusively for the updating of the Philippine
merchant marine regulations. To enable the Philippine Coast Guard to acquire the
necessary vessel-requirement to accomplish effectively its mission, the sum of nine
million pesos each year for the first two years after the passage of this Act and thirteen
million pesos each for the succeeding three years shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.
SEC. 9. All laws, executive orders, rules and regulations and parts thereof inconsistent
with this Act are hereby repealed.
SEC. 10. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved, August 4, 1967

44
PHILIPPINE MARITIME MARINA ACADEMY

45
(PMMA)

Philippine Merchant Marine Academy

ADDRESS: San Narciso, Zambales 2205 Philippines

BRIEF HISTORY:

The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), the pioneer institution in maritime
education in the country is supported by government funds with help from the shipping industry.
It is the proud mother of the finest Filipino merchant marine officers. For many years, it has
produced many master mariners, chief engineers, shipping executives, naval officers, excellent
educators and trainors now serving in marine and maritime related industries in our country and
abroad.

Originally named "Escuela Nautica de Manila", created by virtue of a Spanish Royal


decree issued on January 1, 1820, the school was inaugurated on April 5 of the same year. It was
initially located at Calle Cabildo, Intramuros, Manila until 1863. It was renamed as the
Philippine Nautical School (PNS) during the American occupation. In 1963, Republic Act 3680
converted it into the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy. It began offering maritime programs
leading towards a B.S. degree in Marine Transportation and B.S. degree in Marine Engineering.
Since 1996, PMMA has been offering masters degree programs namely Master in Shipping
Management and Master in Maritime Education and Training.

The Academy has been over different locations through the years. From Intramuros,
Manila to the site of the DFA along Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, to a seven-hectare lot in Fort
Bonifacio. Now presently resting on a sixty-hectare land at the former American Radar Base in
San Narciso, Zambales, the PMMA continues to uphold its mission of producing competent and
qualified merchant marine officers that are honored and respected in the sea-lanes of the world.

SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE PUBLIC:

- To educate and train midshipmen / women to become:


Qualified and competent merchant marine officers for shipboard and shore-based
positions, in response to the global requirements of the expanding international maritime
industry; - Competent and capable naval officers who can serve as naval and
military auxiliaries in times of war and national emergencies; and

46
- Contributor to the improvement of maritime education and the pool of ship
business managers through graduate school programs.

The PMMA offers two (2) major programs, namely: Bachelor of Science in Marine
Transportation (BSMT) and Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering (BSMarE). These
programs are four-year residency courses consisting of a three-year academic studies (1st, 2nd
and 4th year) and one year apprenticeship training on the 3rd year on board commercial vessels
plying the international routes as deck or engine cadets.

The course structures are designed in a manner that the first two years of academic period
prepares the midshipmen for sea-phase training giving them the necessary knowledge and skills
required on board as cadets. The third year is the sea-phase training. At the end of the training,
the midshipmen should have fulfilled the requirements for Regulation II/4 of the STCW
Convention (minimum knowledge required for certification of officer-in-charge of a navigational
watch on ships of 200 gross register tons or more) and the requirements of Regulation III/4 of the
STCW Convention (minimum knowledge required for certification of chief engine officers of
ships powered by main propulsion machinery of 3000 kW or more).

The last academic period is the professional stage. It is at this stage where the graduating
midshipmen are being equipped with additional knowledge and skills required on them as Third
Mates and Fourth Marine Engineers. Likewise, they are also being developed to acquire a sense
of responsibility that an officer and a gentleman should possess.

These programs are continuously reviewed, amended, and presently designed in such a
way that it would meet the needs and requirements not only that of the Commission on Higher
Education and the local maritime industry, but internationally, as well.

PARTICULAR LAW CREATING SUCH AGENCY:

- REPUBLIC ACT 3680


An act converting the present Philippine Nautical School into the Philippine Merchant
Marine Academy, conferring the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation,
major in Navigation and Seamanship, and Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation,
major in Steam Engine and Electrical Engineering, providing for a merchant marine academy
board, defining the board's responsibilities and duties, and for other purposes.

Section 1. The Philippine Nautical School, located in Pasay City, Philippines, is hereby
converted into the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, which will offer a nautical
curriculum leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, major in
47
navigation and seamanship, and Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, major in
steam engine and electrical engineering.

Section 2. The main purpose of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy is to produce
efficient and well trained merchant marine officers who can favorably compare with marine
officers of progressive maritime countries sufficient to carry the expanding international
trade in times of peace and capable of serving as a naval and military auxiliary in times of
war and national emergency. The secondary purpose is to produce young men well trained in
other fields of the merchant marine service, like marine surveyors, port supervisors, shipping
office personnel, shipping management and others.

Section 3. The head of this institution shall be known as the Superintendent of the Philippine
Merchant Marine Academy. He must at least be a master mariner and shall be appointed by
the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Philippine Merchant Marine
Academy Board. The powers and duties of the Superintendent in addition to those specially
provided for in this Act, shall be those usually pertaining to the office of the president of a
college.

Section 4. The government of said Academy is hereby vested in the Philippine Merchant
Marine Academy Board which shall be composed of the following: The Secretary of
Commerce and Industry who shall be ex-officio chairman of the board, with a representative
of the Philippine Navy, the Chairman of the Board of Marine Inquiry, the Chairman of the
Board of Marine Examination for Deck Officers, the chairman of the Board of Marine
Examination for Marine Engineers, the President of the United Harbor Pilots Association of
the Philippines, the President of the Filipino Shipowners' Association, the President of the
Philippine Marine Officers' Guild, and the Superintendent of the Academy as members.

Members of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Board shall serve without
compensation, other than actual and necessary expenses incurred either in attendance upon
meetings of the Board or upon official business authorized by a resolution of the Board.

Section 5. The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Board shall have the following powers
and duties in addition to its general powers of administration:

a. To confer the degree of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, major in


navigation and seamanship, and Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering, major in
steam engine and electrical engineering to successful candidates for graduation.
b. To appoint, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of the Academy, instructors,
professors and other employees of the Academy, to fix their compensation, hours of
service and other duties as it may deem proper, to grant to them leaves of absence under
existing laws and regulations and to remove them from office for cause after an
investigation and hearing and after, in the opinion of the Board, there is just cause for his
removal.

48
c. To approve the curricula and rules of discipline drawn up by the Academy Council as
hereunder provided.
d. To provide fellowships for faculty members and scholarships to students showing special
evidence of merits.
e. To provide rules for its government, and to enact for the government of the Academy
such general ordinances and regulations, not contrary to law, as are consistent with the
purpose of the Academy as defined in Section two of this Act.
f. To receive in trust legacies, gifts, and donations of real and personal property of all kinds
and to administer the same for the benefit of the Academy or for aid to any cadets, in
accordance with the directions and instructions of the donor, and, in default thereof, in
such manner as the Academy Board may, in its discretion, determine.
g. To receive and appropriate to the ends specified by law such sums as may be provided by
law for the support of the college.
Section 6. A quorum of the Academy Board shall consist of a majority of all the members.
All processes against the Academy Board shall be served on the Superintendent of the
Academy or secretary thereof.

Section 7. On or before the fifteenth of June of each year, the Academy Board shall file with
the President of the Philippines a detailed report setting forth the progress, condition, and
needs of the Academy.

Section 8. There shall be an Academy Council consisting of the Superintendent and all
instructors and professors of the Academy. The Council shall have the power to prescribe the
curricula and rules of discipline, subject to the approval of the Philippine Merchant Marine
Academy Board. It shall fix the requirements for admission to the Academy as well as for
graduation and the receiving of a degree. The Council alone shall have the power to
recommend students or others to be recipients of degrees. Through the Superintendent it shall
have disciplinary power over the students within the limits prescribed by rules of discipline
approved by the Academy Board.

Section 9. The body of instructors and professors of the Academy shall constitute the faculty
of the Academy, with the Superintendent of the Academy as the presiding officer. In the
appointment of professors or instructors of the Academy, no religious test shall be applied,
nor shall the religious opinions or affiliations of the faculty of the Academy be made a matter
of examination or inquiry; Provided, however, That no instructor or professor in the
Academy shall inculcate sectarian tenets in any of the teachings, nor attempt either directly
or indirectly, under penalty of dismissal by the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Board,
to influence students or attendants at the Academy for or against any particular church or
religious sect.

49
Section 10. Professors and other regular instructors in the Academy shall be exempt as such
from any civil service examinations or regulations as a requisite to appointment.

Section 11. There shall be a Secretary of the Academy appointed by the Philippine Merchant
Marine Academy Board. He shall be the Secretary of the Board as well as the Academy, and
shall keep such records of the Academy as may be designated by the Board.

Section 12. Graduates of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy who are holders of a
Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Transportation, major in navigation and seamanship,
shall be exempted from taking the third mate examination, and those who are holders of a
Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Transportation, major in steam engine and electrical
engineering, shall be exempted from taking the fourth steam engineer's examination.

Section 13. In order not to interrupt the smooth functioning of the present four-year nautical
curriculum of the Philippine Nautical School, the present Superintendent and faculty, as well
as the other personnel, shall be absorbed by the new Academy. Salaries of these personnel
shall be adjusted at the discretion of the Academy Board within the limits available for
appropriation.

Section 14. For carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act, the sum of eight
hundred thousand pesos is hereby appropriated from funds in the National Treasury not
otherwise appropriated for the fiscal year nineteen hundred sixty-three to nineteen hundred
sixty-four. An additional five hundred thousand pesos is hereby appropriated for the purpose
of acquiring a modern steam-powered training ship to supplement classroom instructions.
Thereafter the amount of three hundred thousand pesos shall be included in the yearly
General Appropriations Acts for the maintenance and operation of the Philippine Merchant
Marine Academy.

The sum herein appropriated shall not be released except upon certification of the Secretary
of Finance and the Auditor General as to the availability of fund in excess of those necessary
for the operation of the Government as provided in the annual General Appropriation Acts for
the fiscal year nineteen hundred sixty-three to nineteen hundred sixty-four.

Section 15. Any provisions of existing laws inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed.

Section 16. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 22, 1963

50
PHILIPPINE PORTS AUTHORITY

51
(PPA)
Philippine Ports Authority

ADDRESS: PPA Corporate Bldg. Bonifacio Drive, South Harbor, Port Area, Manila 1018,
Philippines

BRIEF HISTORY:

Prior to the creation of PPA, port administration in the Philippines was merged
with the traditional function of revenue collection of the Bureau of Customs (BOC). Port
and harbor maintenance was the responsibility of the Bureau of Public Works (BPW). In
the early 1970's, there were already 591 national and municipal ports plus 200 private
ports scattered all over the country necessitating the need for long-range planning and
rationalization of port development.
There was an identified need to integrate and coordinate port planning, development,
operations and regulation at the national level. Around this time, the Bureau of Customs
had proposed to the Reorganization Committee and to Congress the creation of a separate
government agency to integrate the functions of port operations, cargo handling and port
development and maintenance to enable the Bureau to concentrate on tax and customs
duties collection. Moreover, the World Bank, as a condition for the grant of a port
development loan in 1973, stipulated the creation of a port authority to oversee the
implementation of projects under that loan.
Realizing that the establishment and operation of port authorities in other countries led to
improved port operations, it was felt that the same benefits could be derived with a
national port authority to administer and manage the country's ports. Hence, the
Philippine Ports Authority was created under Presidential Decree No. 505 which was
subsequently amended by P.D. No. 857 in December 1975. The latter decree broadened
the scope and functions of the PPA to facilitate the implementation of an integrated
program for the planning, development, financing, operation and maintenance of ports or
port districts for the entire country. In 1978, the charter was further amended by
Executive Order No. 513 the salient features of which were the granting of police
authority to the PPA, the creation of a National Ports Advisory Council (NPAC) to
strengthen cooperation between the government and the private sector, and the
empowering of the Authority to exact reasonable administrative fines for specific
violations of its rules and regulations. By virtue of its charter, the PPA was attached to
what was then the Ministry of Public Works and Highways (MPWH) which also served
as the executing agency for all port construction projects. Under this set-up, PPA prepared
the general plans, programs and project priorites while the MPWH was responsible for
detailed engineering, actual construction and/or supervision of port construction projects
The PPA was subsequently removed from under the jurisdiction of the MPWH (DPWH)
and attached to what is now the Department of Transportation and Communications

52
(DOTC) for policy and program coordination. Subsequently, by virtue of Executive
Order No. 159, which was issued in 1987, the PPA is now vested with the function of
undertaking all port construction projects under its port system, relieving DPWH of this
responsibility. The executive order also granted PPA financial autonomy.

SERVICES OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC:

As a leading GOCC, PPA continues to work towards upholding the highest standards of
corporate governance by simply being a responsible corporate citizen, This entails (i)
developing and operating ports that cater to the needs of local and/or global clients in
accordance with best practices and state-of-the-art technologies, (ii) promoting the
growth of communities by linking them to the mainstream of economic activities, (iii)
establishing fair and equitable business relationships which are beneficial to both port
stakeholders and the government, and (iv) uplifting the lives of its employees by giving
them a work environment that is conducive and offers opportunities for career
advancement.

The Philippine Ports Authority is a Government Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC)
attached to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

53
Organization-wise, the PPA set-up is influenced by the peculiar geography of the Philippines.
This feature determines the spread of PPA's infrastructure, the distribution of its human resources
and all aspects of its management systems.

54
TOLL REGULATORY BOARD

55
(TRB)

Toll Regulatory Board

2nd Floor, Integrated Bar of the Philippines Building, Doa Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas
Center, Pasig City

http://trb.gov.ph/

TRB provides to the Public

The Toll Regulatory Board is a Philippine government agency that regulates all toll roads in
the Philippines.

The TRB was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1112 or the Toll Operation Decree. It
possesses regulatory authority over all toll facilities in the Philippines, and is authorized under its
charter to enter into contracts on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines, with qualified
persons, natural or juridical, for the construction, operation and maintenance of toll facilities.

At present, it exercises jurisdiction over the following toll facilities:

North Luzon Expressway (NLEX);


South Luzon Expressway (SLEX);
ManilaCavite Expressway (CAVITEx);
Metro Manila Skyway (Skyway);
NAIA Expressway (NAIAx);
Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway);
SubicTipo Expressway;
SubicClarkTarlac Expressway (SCTEx);
TarlacPangasinanLa Union Expressway (TPLEx);
MuntinlupaCavite Expressway (MCx)

From 2005 to 2007 and under the auspices of its Executive Director, Manuel G. Imperial, the
TRB entered into contracts with private investors for the expansion and rehabilitation of its
existing projects such as the SLEX, Skyway, Coastal Road and STAR and the construction of the

56
new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) that would link Metro Manila to the Central
Luzon area and the special economic zones located in Subic and Clark.

Other projects in the pipeline involve the extension of the NLEX that would connect it to the
existing SLEX. Also, the TRB is considering the construction of new toll road development
projects in the Calabarzon area.

Needless to state, the TRB played a vital role in spurring economic progress in the Philippines by
improving and providing vital road networks that are necessary in revitalizing the economies of
regions outside Metro Manila.

Filing of Complaint

Under P.D. 1894 (Sec.8) provides that:

SECTION 8. x x x

(b) For the Metro Manila Expressway and such extensions, linkages, stretches and diversions of
the Expressways which may henceforth be constructed, maintained and operated by the
GRANTEE, the GRANTEE shall collect toll at such rates as shall initially be approved by the
Toll Regulatory Board. The Toll Regulatory Board shall have the authority to approve such
initial toll rates without the necessity of any notice and hearing, except as provided in the
immediately succeeding paragraph of this Section. For such purpose, the GRANTEE shall
submit for the approval of the Toll Regulatory Board the toll proposed to be charged the
users. After approval of the toll rate(s) by the Toll Regulatory Board and publication thereof by
the GRANTEE once in a newspaper of general circulation, the toll shall immediately be
enforceable and collectible upon opening of the expressway to traffic use.

Any interested Expressways users shall have the right to file, within a period of ninety (90) days
after the date of publication of the initial toll rate, a petition with the Toll Regulatory Board for a
review of the initial toll rate; provided, however, that the filing of such petition and the pendency
of the resolution thereof shall not suspend the enforceability and collection of the toll in question.
The Toll Regulatory Board, at a public hearing called for the purpose after due notice, shall then
conduct a review of the initial toll shall be appealable (sic) to the Office of the President within
ten (10) days from the promulgation thereof. The GRANTEE may be required to post a bond in

57
such amount and from such surety or sureties and under such terms and conditions as the Toll
Regulatory Board shall fix in case of any petition for review of, or appeal from, decisions of the
Toll Regulatory Board.

In case it is finally determined, after a review by the Toll Regulatory Board or appeal
therefrom, that the GRANTEE is not entitled, in whole or in part, to the initial toll, the
GRANTEE shall deposit in the escrow account the amount collected under the approved initial
toll fee and such amount shall be refunded to Expressways users who had paid said toll in
accordance with the procedure as may be prescribed or promulgated by the Toll Regulatory
Board.

Vision & Mission

Vision

"A nation with efficient and effective Toll Road Network, built and managed in partnership with
the private sector, geared towards the service of public interest."

Mission

"To establish viable toll roads and facilities built and managed by the private sector, regulated
and supervised by the government, in pursuit of sustainable economic development."

The law creating the Toll Regulatory board was PD No. 1112 under the Department of
Transportation and Communication

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1112

AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL FACILITIES ON PUBLIC


IMPROVEMENTS, CREATING A BOARD FOR THE REGULATION THEREOF AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
58
WHEREAS, the huge financial requirements of the Government's development programs have
made it necessary to seek out alternative sources of financing to ensure the prosecution of certain
desirable infrastructure projects that complement the over-all national development effort;

WHEREAS, the potential resources of the private sector could be tapped to the maximum benefit
by the government dispensing to a great extent the availment of additional domestic and foreign
borrowings as well as the utilization of government guarantee or security; and

WHEREAS, in order to attract private sector investment in the government's infrastructure


projects, the collection of toll fees for the use of certain public improvements, that would allow a
reasonable rate of return on investments, should be authorized; Provided that, the collection of
toll fees and operation of toll facilities by the private sector should be loosely supervised and
regulated in the public interest;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of


the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree:

Section 1. This shall be known as "Toll Operation Decree".

Section 2. Toll Regulatory Board. There is hereby created the Toll Regulatory Board hereinafter
referred to as the "Board" to be composed of the Deputy Director-General for Program and
Projects of the National Economic and Development Authority as Chairman, the Undersecretary
of Public Highways and the Undersecretary of Finance as Members.

Section 3. Powers and Duties of the Board. The Board shall have in addition to its general
powers of administration the following powers and duties:

(a) Subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines, to enter into contracts in
behalf of the Republic of the Philippines with persons, natural or juridical, for the
construction, operation and maintenance of toll facilities such as but not limited to
national highways, roads, bridges, and public thoroughfares. Said contract shall be open
to citizens of the Philippines and/or to corporations or associations qualified under the
Constitution and authorized by law to engage in toll operations;

(b) Determine and decide the kind, type and nature of public improvement that will be
constructed and/or operated as toll facilities;

(c) Condemn private property for public use subject to the provisions of existing law;

(d) Issue, modify and promulgate from time to time the rates of toll that will be charged
the direct users of toll facilities and upon notice and hearing, to approve or disapprove
petitions for the increase thereof. Decisions of the Board on petitions for the increase of

59
toll rate shall be appealable to the Office of the President within ten (10) days from the
promulgation thereof. Such appeal shall not suspend the imposition of the new rates,
provided however, that pending the resolution of the appeal, the petitioner for increased
rates in such case shall deposit in a trust fund such amounts as may be necessary to
reimburse toll payers affected in case a reversal of the decision.

(e) To grant authority to operate a toll facility and to issue therefore the necessary "Toll
Operation Certificate" subject to such conditions as shall be imposed by the Board
including inter alia the following:

(1) That the Operator shall desist from collecting toll upon the expiration of the
Toll Operation Certificate.

(2) That the entire facility operated as a toll system including all operation and
maintenance equipment directly related thereto shall be turned over to the
government immediately upon the expiration of the Toll Operation Certificate.

(3) That the toll operator shall not lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell or
assign the rights or privileges acquired under the Toll Operation Certificate to any
person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity, nor merge
with any other company or corporation organized for the same purpose, without
the prior approval of the President of the Philippines. In the event of any valid
transfer of the Toll Operation Certificate, the Transferee shall be subject to all the
conditions, terms, restrictions and limitations of this Decree as fully and
completely and to the same extent as if the Toll Operation Certificate has been
granted to the same person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or
legal entity.

(4) That in time of war, rebellion, public peril, emergency, calamity, disaster or
disturbance of peace and order, the President of the Philippines may cause the
total or partial closing of the toll facility or order to take over thereof by the
Government without prejudice to the payment of just compensation.

(5) That no guarantee, Certificate of Indebtedness, collateral, securities, or bonds


shall be issued by any government agency or government-owned or controlled
corporation on any financing program of the toll operator in connection with his
undertaking under the Toll Operation Certificate.

(6) The Toll Operation Certificate may be amended, modified or revoked


whenever the public interest so requires.

60
(a) The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the
procedures for the grant of Toll Certificates. The rights and privileges of a
grantee under a Toll Operation Certificate shall be defined by the Board.

(b) To issue rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this Decree.

Section 4. Technical Staff. The Board is hereby authorized to create a Technical Staff including
administrative or support staff as may be necessary to assist the Board in the fulfillment of its
responsibilities and functions under this Decree. The Board is hereby authorized to grant
honoraria, allowances or overtime pay in such amount as it may fix, any provision of law, rules
or regulations to the contrary notwithstanding.

Section 5. Publication of Toll Rates. No new rates shall be collected unless published in a
newspaper of general publication at least once a week for three consecutive weeks.

Section 6. Exemption. Government vehicles on official business shall be exempted from the
payment of toll fees under such procedures and circumstances as will be promulgated by the
Board.

Section 7. Appropriation, Operational Expenses. The sum of THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND


PESOS (P300,000.00) shall be set aside each year for the first three years from such fees or other
obligations due from toll operators of existing toll facilities to defray operational expenses of the
Board. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the operational expenses of the Board in
the succeeding fiscal years shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Decree.

Section 8. Separability. All laws, decrees and orders inconsistent with the provisions of this
Decree are hereby repealed and/or modified accordingly.

Section 9. Effectivity. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 31st day of March, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred
and seventy-seven.

Requirements to secure the authority.

Under the Article XII, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that:

Sec. 11. No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public
utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations

61
organized under the laws of the Philippines at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned
by such citizens, nor shall such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or
for a longer period than fifty years. Neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except
under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the Congress
when the common good so requires. The State shall encourage equity participation in public
utilities by the general public. The participation of foreign investors in the governing body of any
public utility enterprise shall be limited to their proportionate share in its capital, and all the
executive and managing officers of such corporation or associations must be citizens of
the Philippines.

AIR TRANSPORTATION OFFICE

62
(ATO)

Air Transportation Office

CAAP Main Office, NAIA Road, Pasay City

www.caap.gov.ph

ATO provides to the Public

The Philippines Air Transportation Office, is an agency of the Philippine government under
the Department of Transportation and Communications, responsible for implementing policies
on civil aviation to assure safe, economic and efficient air travel.

Filing of Complaint

Under RA 9497 (Sec. 79 and 80), the law provides, that any complaint should be reported to the
Airport Information desk or thru CAA online desk and the Director General of the said ATO will
conducting proper investigation for its proper action regarding to the said report/complaint.

SEC. 79. Power of the Authority to Investigate Violations. - Correlative to the provisions of
Section 36 of this Act, the Director General at his own volition, or at the instance of a private
person, or upon the initiative of the Board, may conduct investigations based on the procedures
that the Board may prescribe and using the Rules of Court as its suppletory guidelines.

SEC. 80. Power to Direct an Immediate Halt to an Offending Practice. - The Director
General, after due investigation conducted, may issue a cease and desist order directing an air
carrier(s) to immediately cease any practice found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act.
Such order shall be without prejudice to the civil or criminal prosecution of persons or
individuals found to be involved in practices prohibited under Chapter XI of this Act.

Information disseminated to the Public

MISSION

To ensure a safe, secure and green Philippine Sky.

VISION

63
To be a pre-eminent Civil Aviation Authority in the world and a global brand of excellence in
civil aviation.

CORE VALUES

Fairness, Integrity, Accountability and Transparency

PRINCIPLES

"Sovereignty indivisible with National Security."

"Reciprocity indivisible with Parity"

DREAM

The Future is in the Skies

Law Created the ATO

Republic Act No. 9497 March 04, 2008

AN ACT CREATING THE CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF THE PHILIPPINES,


AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress


assembled::

CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the Civil Aviation Authority Act of
2008.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to provide safe and
efficient air transport and regulatory services in the philippines by providing for the creation of a
civil aviation authority with jurisdiction over the restructuring of the civil aviation system, the

64
promotion, development and regulation of the technical, operational, safety, and aviation security
functions under the civil aviation authority.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the terms:

(a) "Aerial work" refers to an aircraft operation in which an aircraft is used for
specialized services such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying,
observation and patrol, search and rescue, aerial advertisement, etc.

(b) "Aerodrome" refers to an airport, a defined area on land or water (including any
building, installation and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the
arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft.

(c) "Aeronautics or aviation" refers to the science and art of flight.

(d) "Aeronautical telecommunication" refers to and includes any telegraph or telephone


communication signs, signals, writings, images and sounds of any nature, by wire, radio
or other systems or processes of signaling, used in the aeronautical service.

(e) "Aeronautical telecommunication station" refers to any station operated to provide


telecommunications for aeronautical purposes.

(f) "Air carrier or operator" refers to a person who undertakes, whether directly or
indirectly, or by a lease or any other arrangements, to engage in air transportation services
or air commerce. The term may likewise refer to either a "Philippine air carrier" or a
"foreign air carrier" as indicated by the context.

(g) "Air commerce or commercial air transport operation" refers to and includes
scheduled or non-scheduled air transport services for pay or hire, the navigation of
aircraft in furtherance of a business, the navigation of aircraft from one place to another
for operation in the conduct of a business, or an aircraft operation involving the transport
of passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or hire.

(h) "Aircraft" refers to any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the
reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth's surface. The term
"aircraft", when used in this Act or in regulations issued under this Act, shall refer to civil
aircraft only, and will not include State or public aircraft.

(i) "Aircraft accident" refers to an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft
which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of
flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, in which:

65
(1) Any person suffers death or serious injury as a result of being in or upon the
aircraft or by direct contact with the aircraft of anything attached thereto; or

(2) The aircraft receives substantial damage

(j) "Aircraft radio station" refers to a radio station on board any aircraft.

(k) "Aircraft engine" refers to any engine use, or intended to be used, for propulsion of
aircraft and includes all parts, appurtenances, and accessories thereof other than
propellers.

(l) "Aircraft incident" refers to the occurrence, other than an accident, which is associated
with the operation of an aircraft when the safety of the aircraft has been endangered, or is
a situation which could endanger an aircraft and if it occurred again in other
circumstances.

(m) "Aircraft piracy" refers to any actual or attempted seizure or exercise of control, by
force or violence, or by any other form of intimidation, with wrongful intent, of an
aircraft within the jurisdiction of the Philippines.

(n) "Airman" refers to any individual who engages, as the person in command or as pilot,
mechanic, aeronautical engineer, flight radio operator or member of the crew, in the
navigation of aircraft while under way and any individual who is directly in charge of
inspection, maintenance, overhauling, or repair of aircraft, aircraft engine, propellers, or
appliances and individual who serves in the capacity of aircraft dispatcher or air traffic
control operator.

(o) "Airman license" refers to a written authorization or permission issued to any person
for the exercise of the privileges of flying, maintaining, controlling, directing,
dispatching, instructing or any other civil aviation activity which is regulated and
supervised by the Authority.

(p) "Air navigation" refers to the practice of controlling, guiding and operating aircraft
from airport of departure to predetermined airport of destination, including alternate
airports. To ensure safety, regularity and efficiency of civil aviation operations,
standardization and common understanding among all parties involved are essential in all
matters affecting the operation of aircraft and the numerous facilities and services
required in their support, such as airports, telecommunications, navigation aids,
meteorology, air traffic services, search and rescue, aeronautical information services and
aeronautical charts, in accordance with the procedures, rules and regulations contained in
the appropriate Annexes to the Chicago Convention.

66
(q) "Air navigation facility" refers to any facility used in, available for use in, or designed
for use in aid of air navigation, including airports, landing areas, lights, any apparatus or
equipment for disseminating weather information, for signaling, for radio directional
finding, or for radio or other electromagnetic communication, and any other structure or
mechanism having a similar purpose for guiding or controlling flight in the air or the
landing and take-off of aircraft.

(r) "Air navigation services" refers to and includes information, directions and other
facilities furnished, issued or provided in connection with the navigation or movement of
aircraft, and the control of movement of vehicles in any part of an airport used for the
movement of aircraft.

(s) "Air operator" refers to any organization which undertakes to engage in domestic
commercial air transport or international commercial air transport, whether directly or
indirectly, or by a lease or any other arrangement.

(t) "Air Operator Certificate (AOC)" refers to a certificate authorizing an operator to


carry out specified commercial air transport operations.

(u) "Air route" refers to the navigable airspace between two points and the terrain beneath
such airspace identified, to the extent necessary, for application of flight rules.

(v) "Air route and airway facilities" refers to facilities provided to permit safe navigation
of aircraft within the airspace of air routes and airways, including:

(1) Visual and non-visual aids along the air routes and airways

(2) Visual and non-visual aids to approach and landing at airports;

(3) Communication services;

(4) Meteorological observations;

(5) Air traffic control services and facilities and

(6) Flight services and facilities.

(w) "Airport" refers to any area of land or water designed, equipped, set apart or
commonly used for affording facilities for affording facilities for the landing and
departure of aircraft and includes any area or space, whether on the ground, on the roof of
a building or elsewhere, which is designed, equipped or set apart for affording facilities
for the landing and departure of aircraft capable of descending or climbing vertically.

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(x) "Air transport" refers to the transportation of persons, property, mail or cargo by
aircraft.

(y) "Air transport service" refers to the act of transporting persons, property, mail cargo,
in whole or in part, by aircraft to points within or outside of the Philippines.

(z) "Airworthiness" means that an aircraft, its engines, propellers, and other components
and accessories, are of proper design and construction, and are safe for air navigation
purposes, such design and construction being consistent with accepted engineering
practice and in accordance with aerodynamic laws and aircraft science.

(aa) "Annexes to the Chicago Convention" refers to the documents issued by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) containing the standards and
recommended practices applicable to civil aviation.

(bb) "Appliances" refers to instruments, equipment, apparatus, parts, appurtenances, or


accessories, of whatever description, which are used, or are capable of being or intended
to be used, in the navigation, operation, or control of aircraft in flight (including
parachutes and including communication equipment and any other mechanism or
mechanisms installed in or attached to aircraft during flight), and which are not part or
parts of aircraft, aircraft engines, or propellers.

(cc) "Authority" refers to the Philippine Civil Aviation Authority created pursuant to the
provisions of this Act and shall, as indicated by the context, include the Board of
Directors and/or Director General created pursuant thereto.

(dd) "Aviation certificate" means any airworthiness certificate, airman certificate, air
operator certificate, certificate authorizing the operation of an aviation school or
approved maintenance organization or other document issued by virtue of the provisions
of this Act in respect of any person, aircraft, airport or aviation-related service.

(ee) "Board of Directors" means the board of the civil aviation authority created under
this Act.

(ff) "Chicago Convention" refers to the international basis for civil aviation agreements.

(gg) "Citizen of the Philippines" refers to one of the following:

(i) An individual who is a citizen of the Philippines;

(ii) A partnership of which each member is a citizen of the Philippines; or

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(iii) A corporation or association created or organized and authorized under the
laws of the Philippines.

(hh) "Civil aircraft" refers to any aircraft other than a State or public aircraft. .

(ii) "Civil aviation" refers to the operation of any civil aircraft for the purpose of general
aviation operations, aerial work or commercial air transport operations.

(jj) "Crew member" refers to a person assigned to perform duties on an aircraft in flight.

(kk) "Dangerous goods" refers to articles or substances that are capable of posing
significant risks to health or safety of property when transported by air.

(ll) "Director General" refers to the Director General appointed under this Act.

(mm) "Domestic air commerce" means and includes air commerce within the limits of the
Philippine territory.

(nn) "Domestic air transport" means air transportation within the limits of the Philippine
territory.

(oo) "Foreign air carrier or foreign air operator" meane any operator, not being a
Philippine air operator, which undertakes, whether directly or indirectly or by lease or
any other arrangement, to engage in commercial air transport operations within borders
or airspace of the Philippines, whether on a scheduled or chartered basis.

(pp) "Foreign air transport" refers to air transportation between the Philippines and any
place outside it or wholly outside the Philippines.

(qq) "General aviation operation" refers to an aircraft operation of a civil aircraft for other
than a commercial air transport operation or aerial work operation.

(rr) "ICAO." Where used in this Act, refers to the abbreviation for the International Civil
Aviation Organization.

(ss) "International commercial air transport" refers to the carriage by aircraft of persons
or property for remuneration or hire or the carriage of mail between any two (2) or more
countries.

(tt) "Navigable airspace" refers to the airspace above the minimum altitudes of flight
prescribed by regulations under this Act and includes airspace needed to insure safety in
the take-off and landing of aircraft.

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(uu) "Navigation of aircraft" refers to a function that includes the piloting of aircraft.

(vv) "Person" refers to any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company,


association, joint-stock association, or body politic, and includes any trustee, receiver,
assignee, or other similar representative of these entities.

(ww) "Philippine air carrier" means an air carrier who is a citizen of the Philippines.

(xx) "Philippine aircraft" means an aircraft registered in the Philippines in accordance


with the requirements of this Act.

(yy) "Propeller" refers to an inclusive term for all parts, appurtenances, and accessories of
a propeller.

(zz) "Public aircraft" refers to an aircraft used exclusively in the service of any
government or of any political jurisdiction thereof, including the Government of the
Philippines, but not including any government-owned aircraft engaged in operations
which meet the definition of commercial air transport operations.

(aaa)"Rules of the air" means those provisions for securing the safety of aircraft in flight
and in movement on the surface and the safety of persons and property on the surface.
These provisions include:

(1) Lights and signals to be shown by aircraft;

(2) General, visual and instrument flight rules;

(3) Airport traffic rules; and

(4) Airport signals and markings

(bbb)"Spare parts" refers to any parts, appurtenances, and accessories of aircraft (other
than aircraft engines and propellers), aircraft engines (other than propellers), propellers,
and appliances, maintained for installation or use in an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller,
or appliance, but which at the time are not installed therein or attached thereto.

(ccc) "Special aircraft jurisdiction of the Philippines." This includes:

(i) Civil aircraft of the Philippines; and

(ii) Any other aircraft within the jurisdiction of the Philippines, while the aircraft
is in flight, which is from the moment when all external doors are closed

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following embarkation until the moment when one such door is opened for
disembarkation or, in case of a forced landing, until the competent authorities take
over the responsibility of the aircraft and the persons and property aboard.

(ddd) "Validation" refers aboard to the written acceptance of an action of the civil
aviation authority of another country in lieu of an action that this Act assigns to the
Director General.

(eee) "Landing fees" refers to all charges for the use of any landing strip or runway by
any aircraft landing or taking off at an aerodrome.

(fff) "Terminal fees" refers to charges far parking at or near the ramp, terminal area, or
building, for purposes of loading or unloading passengers and/or cargo.

(ggg) "Royalties" refers to all charges based on gross business or sales, or gross or net
profit.

(hhh) "Supplies" includes any and all items of whatever nature or description which may
be necessary for, or incidental to, the operation of an aircraft.

CHAPTER II
ORGANIZATION OF AUTHORITY

SEC. 4. Creation of the Authority. - There is hereby created an independent regulatory body
with quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative powers and possessing corporate attributes to be known
as the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), hereinafter referred to as the
"Authority" attached to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) for the
purpose of policy coordination. For this purpose, the existing Air Transportation Office created
under the provisions of Republic Act No. 776, as amended, is hereby abolished.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Act shall diminish the powers and functions of the
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) as provided for under Republic Act. No. 776, also known as
"The Civil Aeronautics Act of the Philippines", as amended.

(a) Establishment of Authority Headed by a Director General - The Authority shall beheaded by a
Director General of Civil Aviation, referred to in this Act as the "Director General," who shall be
appointed by the President of the Philippines and shall be responsible for all civil aviation in the
Philippines and the administration of this Act. The Director General shall be appointed based on
the qualifications herein provided and shall have a tenure of office for a period of four (4) years.
His appointment may be extended for another non-extendible term of four (4) years and shall
only be removed for cause in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Civil
Service Commission.

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(b) Responsibility of the Director General - The Director General shall be responsible for the
exercise of all powers and the discharge of all duties of the Authority and shall have control over
all personnel and activities of the Authority.

SEC. 5 . Composition of the Board Members. - The corporate powers of the Authority shall be
vested in a board, which is composed of seven (7) members:

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications shall act as
chairman ex officio;

(b) The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shall automatically be the vice
chairman of the Board;

(c) The Secretary of Finance;

(d) The Secretary of Foreign Affairs;

(e) The Secretary of Justice;

(f) The Secretary of the Interior and Local Government; and

(g) The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment.

The Directors listed under subsection (a) to (g) shall be ex officio members of the Board of
Directors: Provided, That, in the absence of the Director appointed in subsections (c) to (g), the
Director concerned shall designate the officer next in rank to him in his department or office to
act on his behalf as a Director.

SEC. 6. Prohibited Interests. - All members of the Board or any of their relatives within the
fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, legitimate or common law, shall be prohibited
from holding any interest whatsoever, either as investor, stockholder, officer or director, in any
company or entity engaged in air commerce, whether scheduled or unscheduled, passenger or
cargo, domestic or international, or in any business providing support services to persons
engaged in air commerce (i.e. general sales agencies, travel agencies, cargo forwarders, ground
handling, catering, fuel servicing, aircraft maintenance, etc.) and must therefore divest, through
sale or legal disposition, of any and all interests in such undertakings upon the member's
assumption of office. Any violation of this section shall subject the member concerned to
removal from the Authority for cause as well as administrative, civil or criminal prosecution
under applicable laws.

SEC. 7. Limitation of Subsequent Employment. - No member of the Board or any employee


of the Authority shall accept employment or enter into a contract of service with an entity

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regulated by the Authority until the expiry of one (1) year from the termination of his
appointment, whether by resignation or revocation or otherwise.

SEC. 8. Quorum. - The presence of at least four (4) members of the Board shall constitute a
quorum and the majority vote of three (3) members in a meeting where a quorum is present shall
be necessary for the adoption of any rule, ruling, order, resolution, decision or other act of the
Board in the exercise of its functions.

SEC. 9. Qualifications of Director General. - No person shall be appointed or designated as the


Director General unless he is a Filipino citizen, at least thirty-five (35) years of age, of good
moral character, unquestionable integrity, recognized competence and a degree holder with at
least five (5) years supervisory or management experience in the field of aviation.

SEC. 10. Board Meetings. - The Board shall meet regularly once a month and may hold special
meetings to consider urgent matters upon call of the Chairman or upon the initiative of four (4)
members. Internal rules of procedure in the conduct of Board meetings shall be as prescribed by
the Board.

SEC. 11. Per Diems. - The members of the Board shall receive a per diem for each meeting
actually attended. The per diems of the members of the Board shall be determined pursuant to a
resolution adopted by the Board subject to compliance of the guidelines duly existing and
applicable by the Commission on Audit.

SEC. 12. Personnel. - Qualified existing personnel of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) shall
be given preference in the filling up of plantilla positions created in the Authority, subject to
existing civil service rules and regulations.

SEC. 13. Principal Office. - The Authority shall have its principal office in Metro Manila and
may hold hearings on any proceedings at such time and places within the Philippines, as it may
provide by order in writing.

SEC. 14. Capitalization. - The Authority shall have an authorized capital stock of Fifty billion
pesos (Php50,000,000,000.00) which shall be fully subscribed by the Republic of the
Philippines. The subscription of the National Government shall be paid as follows:

(a) The unexpended balances of appropriations in the current General Appropriations Act
and other acts in force upon approval hereof, pertaining to, held or used by, the ATO,

(b) The value of existing assets of the ATO, which shall be determined by an independent
and qualified appraiser or appraisers within six (6) months from the effectivity of this
Act, and after deducting the loans and other liabilities of the ATO at the time of the
takeover of the assets and properties; and

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(c) Such amounts as may be appropriated from time to time from the funds of the
National Treasury, including any outlay from the infrastructure program of the National
Government.

SEC. 15. Fiscal Autonomy. - The Authority shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. All moneys earned by
the Authority from the collection/levy of any and all such fees, charges, dues, assessments and
fines it is empowered to collect/levy under this Act shall be used solely to fund the operations of
the Authority.

The utilization of any funds coming from the collection and/or levy of the Authority shall be
subject to the examination of the Congressional Oversight Committee.

SEC. 16. Exemption from Taxes, Customs and Tariff Duties. - (a) The importation of
equipment, machineries, spare parts, accessories and other materials including supplies and
services used solely and exclusively in the operations of the Authority not obtainable locally
shall be exempt from all direct and indirect taxes, wharfage fees and other charges and
restrictions, the existence of pertinent laws to the contrary notwithstanding.

(b) All obligations entered into by the Authority and any income derived therefrom, including
those contracted with private international banking and financial institutions, shall be exempt
from all taxes, both principal and interest. The Authority is also exempt from the payment of
capital gains tax, documentary stamp tax, real property estate tax and all other local government-
imposed taxes and fees.

SEC. 17. Schedule of Fees and Charges. - The Authority shall adopt and publish its schedule of
fees and charges. The Authority shall hold such public hearings or consultative meetings with
stakeholders in the industry before adapting its schedule of fees and charges. The Authority shall
not revise its schedule of fees and fines more often than once every three (3) years.

SEC. 18. Compensation and Other Emoluments of Authority Personnel. - Within six (6)
months from the effectivity of this Act, the Board shall determine the new schedule of salaries of
the employees of the Authority subject to the compliance with the existing compensation
laws: Provided, That the Board shall determine and fix the compensation and fringe benefits of
employees holding technical positions that are not common to the other agencies of the
government which shall be specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations.

SEC. 19. Transfer of Properties. - The funds and appropriations, records, equipment and
property of the AT0 is hereby transferred to the Authority.

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SEC. 20. Annual Report. - The Authority shall prepare and submit an annual report to the
President of the Philippines, to the Senate and to the House of Representatives on its
accomplishments at the close of each calendar year.

CHAPTER III
GENERAL POLICIES

SEC. 21. Policies. - In the exercise and performance of its powers and duties under this Act, the
Authority shall consider the following, among other things, as being in the public interest and in
accordance with the public convenience and necessity:

(a) The development and utilization of the air potential of the Philippines;

(b) The encouragement and development of an air transportation system properly adapted
to the present and future of foreign and domestic commerce of the Philippines;

(c) The regulation of air transportation in such manner as to support sound economic
condition in such transportation and to improve the relations between air carriers;

(d) Ensuring the safety, quality, reliability, and affordability of air transport services for
the riding public; and

(e) The encouragement and development of a viable and globally competitive Philippine
aviation industry.

CHAPTER IV
POWERS OF THE AUTKORITY

SEC. 22. Powers and Functions. - The Authority shall have such powers as are granted to the
Board and the Director General under the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 23. Corporate Powers. - The Authority, acting through the Board, shall have the following
corporate powers:

(a) To succeed in its corporate name, to sue and be sued in such corporate name, and to
adopt, use and alter its corporate seal, which shall be judicially noticed;

(b) To adopt, amend or repeal its bylaws;

(c) To enter into, make, perform and carry out contracts of every class, kind and
description, which are necessary or incidental to the realization of its purposes, with any

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person, domestic or foreign private firm, or corporation, local or national government
office, agency and with international institutions or foreign government;

(d) To raise money, contract loans, indebtedness, credit and issue commercial papers and
bonds, in any local or convertible foreign currency from any other international financial
institutions under terms and conditions prescribed by law, rules and regulations;

(e) To execute any deed of guarantee, mortgage, pledge, trust or assignment of any
property for the purpose of financing the programs and projects deemed vital for the
attainment of its goals and objectives;

(f) To construct, acquire, own, hold, operate, maintain, administer and lease personal and
real properties, including buildings, machinery, equipment, other infrastructure,
agricultural land, and its improvements, property rights, and interests therein, and to
encumber, mortgage, dispose, sell, or alienate or otherwise dispose the same at the fair
market value it may deem appropriate; to lease its plant, machinery, equipment or goods
not immediately required by it: Provided, That no real property thus acquired and any
other real property shall be sold without the approval of the President of the Philippines;

(g) To receive gifts, donations, grants, bequests, services, properties, whether personal or
real, and assistance of all kinds, from private and public sources, firms, institutions,
domestic and foreign governments, and international institutions, and utilize the same for
the purposes set forth in this Act;

(h) To invest its funds and other assets in such areas, ventures, and projects as it may
deem wise;

(i) To settle, under such terms and conditions most advantageous to it, any claim by or
against it;

(j) To determine and keep its own system of accounts following generally accepted
principles of accounting, as well as the forms and contents of its contracts and other
business documents; and

(k) To perform such other acts, as are necessary or convenient in connection with the
performance of its functions, to carry out the purposes of this Act.

CHAPTER V
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD

SEC. 24. Powers of the Board. - The Board shall have the following general powers:

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(a) Provide comprehensive policy guidance for the promotion and development of the
Philippine aviation industry, as provided for in this Act;

(b) Ensure that the Authority performs its functions in a proper, efficient and effective
manner;

(c) Decide the objectives, strategies and policies of the Authority in accordance with the
provisions of this Act;

(d) Determine the organizational structure of the Authority in accordance with the
provisions of this Act, establish a human resources management system based on merit
and fitness, and adopt a rational compensation and benefits scheme;

(e) Exercise appellate powers on any decisions, findings and rulings of the Director
General, to issue subpoena ad testificandum or subpoena duces tecum requiring the
attendance and testimony of witnesses in any matter or inquiry pending before the Board
and require the production of books, papers, contracts, agreements and all other
documents submitted for purposes of this section to be under oath and verified by the
person in custody thereof as to the truth and correctness of data appearing in such books,
papers, tariffs, contracts, agreements and all other documents;

(f) Exercise appellate powers to order the taking of depositions in any proceeding, or
investigation, pending before the Board at any stage of such proceeding or investigation;

(g) Use available services, equipment, personnel and facilities of other agencies of the
Philippine Government, on a reimbursable basis when appropriate and, on a similar basis,
to co-operate with those agencies in the establishment and use of services, equipment and
facilities of the Authority;

(h) Use the property of the Authority in such a manner as may appear to the Authority to
be requisite, advantageous or convenient with a view to making the best use of any of the
property of the Authority in relation to its functions under this Act;

(i) Invest such of the Authority's funds that are not immediately required for operating
expenses, or other immediate obligations in any business venture the Board may deem
appropriate, or in such secured note, government securities, and other negotiable
instruments that satisfy the guidelines prescribed by the Board. Funds of the Authority
shall be deposited in such commercial and universal banks as the Board may determine,
subject to the requirements of existing laws. The Board shall designate the officials
authorized to deposit in or withdraw funds from such depository banks;

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(j) Promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary in the interest of safety in air
commerce pertaining to the issuance of the airman's certificate including the licensing of
operating and mechanical personnel, type certificate for aircraft, aircraft engines,
propellers and appliances, airworthiness certificates, air carrier operating certificates, air
agency certificates, navigation facility and aerodrome certificates; air traffic routes; radio
and aeronautical telecommunications and air navigation aids; aircraft accident inquiries;
aerodromes, both public and private-owned; construction of obstructions to aerodromes;
height of buildings; antennae and other edifices; registration of aircrafts; search and
rescue; facilitation of air transports; operations of aircrafts, both for domestic and
international, including scheduled and non-scheduled; meteorology in relation to civil
aviation; rules of the air; air traffic services; rules for prevention of collision of aircrafts,
identification of aircraft; rules for safe altitudes of flight; and such other rules and
regulations, standards, governing other practices, methods and/or procedures as the
Director General may find necessary and appropriate to provide adequately for safety
regularity and efficiency in air commerce and air navigation;

(k) Impose and fix reasonable charges and fees for the use of government aerodromes or
air navigation facilities; for services rendered by the Authority in the rating of any
aerodrome or air navigation facilities, civil aviation schools and instructors, aircraft repair
stations, and aircraft radio and aeronautical telecommunications stations;

(l) Fix the reasonable charges to be imposed in the use of privately-owned air navigation
facilities and aerodromes;

(m) Adopt a system for the registration of aircraft as hereinafter provided;

(n) Determine and fix, landing fees, parking space fees, royalties on sales or deliveries,
direct or indirect, to any aircraft for its use of aviation gasoline, oil and lubricants, spare
parts, accessories and supplies, tools, other royalties, fees or rentals for the use of any of
the property under its management and control;

(o) Approve the annual and supplementary budget plan and utilization of retained
revenue;

(p) Exercise the corporate powers granted to the Authority;

(q) Upon its own initiative or the recommendation of the Director General or an
application of a private person, grant exemption from the requirements of observing rules
or regulations issued in accordance with this Act: Provided, That said grant of exemption
is not prejudicial to flight safety;

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(r) Formulate rules and regulations concerning compliance of the carrier and the public
for the safe transport of goods and materials by air pursuant to international standards or
Annexes to the Chicago Convention; and

(s) In coordination with the appropriate government agency tasked to provide airport
security, shall:

(1) Prescribe reasonable regulation requiring that all passengers and all property
intended to be carried in the aircraft cabin in commercial air transport be screened
by weapon-detecting procedure or facilities employed or operated by employees
or agents of the air operator or foreign air operator prior to boarding the aircraft
for such transportation;

(2) Prescribe such other reasonable rules and regulations requiring such parties,
methods and procedures as the Director General may find necessary to protect
persons and property aboard aircraft operating in commercial air transport against
acts of criminal violence and aircraft piracy; and

(3) To the extent practicable, require uniform procedures for the inspection,
detention, and search of persons and property in domestic commercial air
transport and international commercial air transport to assure their safety and to
assure that they will receive courteous and efficient treatment by air operators and
their agents and employees.

SEC. 25. Issuance of Rules and Regulations. - The Board, in consultation with the Director
General, shall issue and provide for the enforcement of such orders, rules and regulations as may
be necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Act. All rules and regulations issued in
accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be formally promulgated and periodically
reviewed and updated in accordance with the requirements of the Administrative Code of the
Philippines or any amendment or successor thereto and the International Civil Aviation
Organization Standards and Recommended Practices. Pending the promulgation of such new
rules and regulations, the current rules and regulations of the AT0 shall continue to apply.

SEC. 26. Setting of Charges and Fees. - The Board, after consultation with the Director
General, and after public hearing, shall determine, fix, impose, collect or receive reasonable
charges, fees, dues or assessments in respect of aviation certificates, licenses and all other
authorizations or permissions authorized to be issued under this Act and all services performed
by the Authority. All charges and fees shall be formally promulgated in accordance with the
requirements of the Administrative Code of the Philippines or any amendment or successor
thereto. Pending the promulgation of such new schedule of charges and fees, the current charges
and fees of the AT0 shall continue to apply.

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SEC. 27. Issuance of Rules of Procedure and Practice. - The Board may authorize the Director
General to issue or amend rules of procedures and practice as may be required to be issued
pursuant to the provisions of this Act or issue and adopt rules and regulations and other issuances
of the ICAO. Pending the promulgation of such new rules of procedures and practice, current
rules of procedures and practices of the AT0 shall continue to apply.

SEC. 28. Appellate Powers. - The Board, on an appeal properly taken by an interested party
from a decision, judgment or order of the Director General, shall have the power to:

(a) Review, confirm, modify, revise, amend or reverse, as the case may be, decisions,
judgments and/or orders of the Director General;

(b) Confirm, remit, mitigate, increase or compromise, as the case may be, fines imposed
by the Director General pursuant with the provisions of this Act; and

(c) Review, confirm, modify, revise, amend or reverse, as the case may be, impositions by
the Director General of liens on personal and real properties of entities, persons,
corporations or partnerships in default, or those who have failed to perform their
obligations pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated under this Act, or those who
shall have failed to pay the fines or other pecuniary penalties for violation thereof,

In no case that the Director General shall participate in the hearing and adjudication of an
appealed case before the Board where the subject of appeal is a judgment or decision rendered by
his office. In such case, it requires four (4) concurring votes of the members of the Board who
actively participated in the deliberation of the appealed case before the judgment or decision of
the Director General can be modified or reversed.

SEC. 29. Power to Administer Oaths. - The members of the Board, the Director General and
such other duly designated officers of the Authority shall have the authority to administer oaths
in the transaction and performance of their official duties.

SEC. 30. Annual Budget. - The Board shall adopt an annual budget to fund the operations of the
Authority.

SEC. 31. Delegation of Functions. - (a) Delegation to Officers, Employees and Administrative
Units of the Authority - The Director General may, subject to such regulations, supervision and
review as may be prescribed, authorize the performance by any officer, employee, or
administrative unit under the Director General's jurisdiction of any function under this Act.

(b) Delegation to Private Persons - The Director General, in accordance with the policy
guidelines prescribed by the Board, is authorized to delegate any assigned powers and duties to
any properly qualified private person subject to his continuing supervision, regulation, and

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review as may be prescribed. However, the Director General shall ensure that such functions are
not delegated in such a way that air operators, aerial work or general aviation operators and
maintenance facilities, in effect, regulate themselves.

SEC. 32. Limitation of Powers. - The Board shall not exercise any power or function not
otherwise expressly granted to it under this Act, neither shall the Board exercise, in the first
instance, any power or function that properly falls within the authority, jurisdiction, powers or
functions of the Director General.

CHAPTER VI
THE AUTHORITY PROPER

SEC. 33. Organizational Structure of the Authority. - Within fifteen (15) days from the
appointment of and acceptance by all members of the Board and the Director General of their
respective appointments, the Board, in consultation with the Director General, shall meet to
draw-up the Authority's organizational structure. The Board shall agree on the Authority's final
organizational structure not later than six (6) months from the date of the effectivity of this Act.

In addition to the offices created under Sections 36 and 40 of this Act, the Board shall establish
the following permanent offices:

(a) Air Traffic Service;

(b) Air Navigation Service;

(c) Aerodrome Development and Management Service; and

(d) Administrative and Finance Service.

The Board may agree for the viability for the creation of additional offices and the finalization of
the organizational structure not later than six (6) months from the date of the effectivity of this
Act.

Notwithstanding the qualification standards as may be prescribed by the Board and the Civil
Service Commission, the selection and appointment of the heads of the foregoing offices shall be
limited from the rank and file employees of the concerned services.

SEC. 34. Training Schools. - (a) Authority to Operate - The Director General may conduct a
school or schools for the purpose of training employees of the Authority in those subjects
necessary for the proper performance of all authorized functions of the Authority. The Director
General may also authorize attendance of courses given in such schools by other governmental
personnel and personnel of foreign governments, or personnel of the aeronautical industry.

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(b) Offset of Training Costs - The Director General is hereby authorized, where appropriate, to
require payment of appropriate consideration to offset the costs of training provided by such
school or schools.

CHAPTER VII
THE DIRECTOR GENERAL

SEC. 35. Powers and Functions of the Director General. - The Director General shall be the
chief executive and operating officer of the Authority. He shall have the following powers, duties
and responsibilities:

(a) To carry out the purposes and policies established in this Act; to enforce the
provisions of the rules and regulations issued in pursuance to said Act; and he shall
primarily be vested with authority to take charge of the technical and operational phase of
civil aviation matters;

(b) To designate and establish civil airways, to acquire, control, operate and maintain
along such airways, navigation facilities and to chart such airways and arrange for their
publication including the aeronautical charts or maps required by the international
aeronautical agencies, by utilizing the equipment, supplies or assistance of existing
agencies of the government as far as practicable;

(c) To issue airman's certificate specifying the capacity in which the holder thereof is
authorized to serve as airman in connection with aircraft and shall be issued only upon
the finding that the applicant is properly qualified and physically able to perform the
duties of the position. The certificate shall contain such terms, conditions and limitations
as the Director General may determine to be necessary to assure safety in air
commerce: Provided, however, That the airman's license shall be issued only to qualified
persons who are citizens of the Philippines or qualified citizens of countries granting
similar rights and privileges to citizens of the Philippines;

(d) To issue airworthiness certificate for aircraft which shall prescribe the duration of
such certificate, the type of service for which the aircraft may be used, and such other
terms and conditions and limitations as are required;

(e) To issue air carrier operating certificate in accordance with the minimum safety
standards for the operation of the air carrier to whom such certificate is issued. The air
carrier operating certificate shall be issued only to aircrafts registered under the
provisions of this Act;

(f) To issue type certificate for aircraft, aircraft engine, propellers and appliances;

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(g) To inspect, classify and rate any air navigation facilities and aerodromes available for
the use of aircraft as to its suitability for such use and to issue a certificate for such air
navigation facility and aerodrome; and to determine the suitability of foreign aerodromes,
air navigation facilities as well as air routes to be used prior to the operation of
Philippine-registered aircraft in foreign air transportation and from time to time thereafter
as may be required in the interest of safety in air commerce;

(h) To issue certificates of persons or civil aviation schools giving instruction in flying,
repair stations, and other air agencies and provide for the examination and rating thereof;

(i) To provide for the enforcement of the rules and regulations issued under the provisions
of this Act and to conduct investigation for violations thereto. In undertaking such
investigation, to require by subpoena ad testificandum or subpoena duces tecum, the
attendance and testimony of witnesses, the production of books, papers, documents,
exhibits matter, evidence, or the taking of depositions before any person authorized to
administer oath. Refusal to submit the reasonable requirements of the investigation
committee shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(j) To collect and disseminate information relative to civil aeronautics and the
development of air commerce and the aeronautical industry; to exchange with foreign
governments, information pertaining to civil aeronautics; and to provide for direct
communication on all matters relating to the technical or operational phase of aeronautics
with international aeronautical agencies:

(k) To acquire and operate such aircraft as may be necessary to execute the duties and
functions of the Authority prescribed in this Act;

(l) To plan, design, acquire, establish, construct, operate, improve, maintain, and repair
necessary aerodromes and other air navigation facilities;

(m) To collect and receive charges and fees for the registration of aircraft and for the
issuance and/or renewal of licenses or certificates for aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers
and appliances, and airmen as provided in this Act;

(n) To impose fines and/or civil penalties in respect thereto;

(o) To participate actively with the largest possible degree in the development of
international standardization of practices in aviation matters important to safe,
expeditious, and easy navigation, and to implement as far as practicable the international
standards, recommended practices and policies adopted by appropriate international
aeronautical agencies;

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(p) To exercise and perform its powers and duties under this Act consistent with any
obligation assumed by the Republic of the Philippines in any treaty, convention or
agreement on civil aviation matters;

(q) To cooperate, assist and coordinate with any research and technical agency of the
government on matters relating to research and technical studies on design, materials,
workmanship, construction, performance, maintenance and operation of aircraft, aircraft
engines, propellers, appliances, and air navigation facilities including aircraft fuel and
oil: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the duplication of
the laboratory research, activities or technical studies of any existing governmental
agency;

(r) To designate such prohibited and danger areas, in consonance with the requirements of
the international aeronautical agencies and national security;

(s) To issue, deny, suspend, cancel or revoke any certificate, license pertaining to aircraft,
airmen and air agencies: Provided, That any order denying, suspending, cancelling,
revoking the certificate or license may he appealed to the Board, whose decisions shall he
final within fifteen (15) days from the date of notification of such denial, cancellation or
revocation;

(t) To grant authorization to civil aircraft or persons to carry instruments or photographic


devices to be used for aerial photography or taking of pictures by photograph or
sketching of any part of the Philippines; and

(u) Pursuant to a board resolution, to enter into, make and execute contracts of any kind
with any person, firm, or public or private corporation.

SEC. 36. The Office of Enforcement and Legal Service. - To effectively implement the civil
aviation regulatory, supervisory and administrative mandates of the Director General under this
Act, a permanent office within the Authority to be known as the Enforcement and Legal Service,
to be composed of in-house counsels of the Authority and its necessary support staff shall be
established by the Board.

This office shall provide adequate legal assistance and support to the Director General and to the
Authority, as a whole, in the exercise of quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial power as provided
for under this Act.

The exercise of the function by the Director General to issue subpoena ad testificandum,
subpoenaduces tecum and the imposition of any administrative sanction shall be within the
exclusive determination and recommendation of the Enforcement and Legal Service.

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SEC. 37. Orders. - (a) Effectiveness of Orders - Except in emergency situations, all orders, rules
and regulations of the Director General shall take effect within such reasonable times as the
Director General may prescribe, and shall continue in force until a further order, rule or
regulation, or for a specified period of time, as shall be prescribed in the order, rule or regulation.

(b) Emergencies - Whenever the Director General is of the opinion that an emergency requiring
immediate action exists with respect to safety in civil aviation, the Director General shall have
the power, either upon complaint or the Director General's initiative without complaint, at once,
if the Director General so orders, without answer or other form of pleading by the interested
person or persons, and with or without notice, hearing, or the making or filing of a report, to
make such just and reasonable orders, rules or regulations as may be essential in the interest of
safety in civil aviation to meet such emergency: Provided, That the Director General shall
immediately thereafter initiate proceedings relating to the matter giving rise to any such order,
rule or regulation.

(c) Suspension and Modification of Orders - The Director General shall have the power to
suspend or modify orders upon such notice and in such manner as the Director General shall find
proper.

(d) Public Compliance - It shall be the duty of every person (along with any agents and
employees thereof in the case of entities other than individuals), subject to this Act, to observe
and comply with any order, rule, regulation, or certificate issued by the Director General under
this Act, affecting such person so long as the same shall remain in effect.

SEC. 38. Right of Access for Inspection. - (a) The Director General or his authorized
representative shall be authorized access to civil aircraft, including aerodromes, without
restriction wherever they are operated within the Philippines for purposes of ensuring that those
aircraft are airworthy and being operated in accordance with this Act, regulations issued under
this Act, and applicable ICAO Annexes.

(b) The Director General or his authorized representative shall be authorized access to civil
aircraft registered in the Philippines without restriction wherever they are operated in the world
for the purposes of ensuring that these aircraft are airworthy and are being operated in
accordance with this Act and applicable regulations and directives.

(c) The Director General or his authorized representative shall be authorized access by the
Philippine air operators at any place and any time to conduct any tests or inspections in their
facility or offices in order to determine that those operations are conducted in accordance with
this Act and applicable regulations and directives.

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(d) The Director General or his authorized representative shall be authorized access to any
aerodromes, whether privately or government-owned, to conduct inspections or evaluation of the
facilities therein in order to determine that its operations are conducted.

SEC. 39. Authority to Prevent Flight. - (a) The Director General is authorized to direct the
operator or airman of a civil aircraft that the aircraft is not to be operated in situations where:

(1) The aircraft may not be airworthy; or

(2) The airman may not be qualified or physically or mentally capable for the flight; or

(3) The operation would cause imminent danger to persons or property on the ground.

(b) The Director General may take such steps as are necessary to detain such aircraft or airmen.

SEC. 40. Creation of Flight Standards Inspectorate Service. - (a) The Board, other than the
offices it shall create in furtherance of this Act, shall establish a permanent office known as the
Flight Standards Inspectorate Service (FSIS) that will assist the Director General in carrying out
the responsibilities of his office for certification and ongoing inspections of aircraft, airmen and
air operators.

The FSIS shall perform the following functions:

(1) Airworthiness inspection;

(2) Flight operations inspection and evaluation; and

(3) Personnel licensing.

Furthermore, the Board shall create, but not limited to, the following offices which will provide
support to the functions of the FSIS, namely: Aircraft Registration, Aircraft Engineering and
Standards, Airmen Examination Board and Office of the Flight Surgeon.

SEC. 41. Validation. - The Director General is authorized, in the discharge of his certification
and inspection responsibilities, to validate the actions of the civil authority of another State in
lieu of taking the specific action, with the following restrictions:

(a) For actions on airman or airworthiness certificates, the other State must be a signatory
to the Chicago Convention and he fulfilling its obligations under the Chicago Convention
with respect to the issuance and currency of these certificates; and

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(b) For actions applicable to air operators, the Director General must exercise discretion
and require supporting documents. The Director General should ensure that, when
validation is based on the actions of another civil aviation authority, there is no
information to indicate that the State does not meet its obligations under the Chicago
Convention regarding certification and ongoing validation of its air operators.

SEC. 42. Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board. - Pending the establishment of
an independent and separate government agency created to conduct investigation of accidents on
land, air and water, the Director General shall organize an Aircraft Accident Investigation and
Inquiry Board (AAIIB), to be composed of personnel of the Authority specialized in the various
disciplines of civil aviation. The Board shall appoint the head of the AAIIB.

(a) Reporting of Accidents - The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the
notification and the reporting of accidents and incidents involving aircraft.

(b) General Authority to Investigate - Except as provided in subsection c of this section, the
Director General shall have:

(1) The power to investigate, or arrange by contract or otherwise for the investigation of,
accidents involving aircraft occurring in the Philippines and civil aircraft registered in the
Fhilippines occurring outside the territory of any foreign country for the purpose of
determining the facts, conditions and circumstances relating to each accident and the
probable cause thereof; and

(2) The authority to participate in the investigation of accidents involving aircraft


registered in the Philippines occurring outside the territory of a foreign country,
consistent with any treaty, convention, agreement, or other arrangemest between the
Philippines and the country in whose territory the accident occurred.

(c) Accident Prevention - The Director General shall take any corrective actions which, on the
basis of the findings of the accident investigations authorized under this section, that, in the
judgment of the Director General, will tend to prevent similar accidents in the future.

(d) Investigation of Accidents Within Military Sites - Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, and, the investigation of an accident involving aircraft occurring within military sites in
the Philippines, or an accident involving solely an aircraft of the armed forces of any foreign
country occurring in the Philippines, shall be the responsibility of the military. For the purpose of
this subsection, the term 'military sites' means those areas within the Philippines which are under
the control of the military of the Philippines or the military of another country.

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(e) Use as Evidence - No part of any report or reports of the Director General relating to any
accident, or the investigation thereof, shall be admitted as evidence or used in any suit or action
for damages arising out of any matter mentioned in such report or reports except when the
criminal liabilities/aspects of the accident is put into issue.

CHAPTER VIII
NATIONALITY AND OWNERSHIP OF AIRCRAFT

SEC. 43. Establishment of Registry. - The Authority shall:

(a) Establish and maintain a system for the national registration of aircraft in the
Philippines;

(b) Establish and maintain a system for the registration of liens, mortgages or other
interests in aircraft or aircraft engines; and

(c) Have sole authority to register aircraft and liens, mortgages or other interests in
aircraft or aircraft engines.

SEC. 44. Eligibility for Registration. - Except as otherwise provided in the Constitution and
existing treaty or treaties, no aircraft shall be eligible for registration unless it is owned by or
leased to a citizen or citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations organized under
the laws of the Philippines at least sixty per centum(60%) of whose capital is owned by Filipino
citizens. That, under such rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Board, foreign-owned
or registered aircraft may be registered if utilized by members of aero clubs organized for
recreation, sport or the development of flying skills as a prerequisite to any aeronautical
activities of such clubs within the Philippine airspace. (R.A. 776, P.D. 1278, E.O. 546, and B.P.
504)

Such certificate shall be conclusive evidence of nationality for international purposes, but not in
any proceeding under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

The certificate of registration is conclusive evidence of ownership, except in a proceeding where


such ownership is, or may be, at issue.

SEC. 45. Application for Aircraft Registration. - Applications for certificate of registration
shall be made in writing, signed and sworn to by the owner or lessee of any aircraft or aircraft
engine eligible for registration. The application shall also state: (a) the date and place of filing;
(b) the specification, construction and technical description of the aircraft or aircraft engine; and
(c) such other information as may be required by the Authority in such manner and form as the
Authority may prescribe by regulation.

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SEC. 46. Issuance of Certificate of Registration. - Should the Director General, upon
considering the application for registration, find the aircraft or aircraft engine eligible for
registration, such aircraft shall be registered under the provisions of this Act and the owner
thereof shall be issued a certificate of registration.

SEC. 47. Nationality. - An aircraft shall acquire Philippine nationality when registered pursuant
to this Act.

SEC. 48. Revocation. - Any certificate of registration may be revoked by the Authority for any
cause which renders the aircraft ineligible for registration.

SEC. 49. Conveyance to be Recorded. - No conveyance made or executed, which affects the
title to, or interest in, any aircraft of Philippine registry, or any portion thereof shall be valid in
respect to such aircraft or portion thereof against any person other than the person by whom the
conveyance is made or executed, his heirs, assignees, executors, administrators, devisees, or
successors in interest, and any person having actual notice thereof, until such conveyance is
recorded in the Authority. Every such conveyance so recorded shall be valid as against all
persons. Any instrument, recording of which is required by the provisions of this Act, shall take
effect from the date of its record in the books of the Authority, and not from the date of its
execution.

SEC. 50. Form of Conveyance. - No conveyance may be recorded under the provisions of this
Act unless it complies with the requirements for the registration of documents similar to the land
registration process. The conveyance to be recorded shall also state: (a) the interest in the aircraft
of the person by whom such conveyance is made or executed or, in the case of a contract of
conditional sale, the interest of the vendor; and (b) the interest transferred by the conveyance.

SEC. 51. Establishment of System of Recording. - The Authority shall establish a national
system for recording documents that affect the title to or any interest in any aircraft registered in
accordance with this Act and in any aircraft engine, propeller, appliance or spare parts intended
for use on any such aircraft.

SEC. 52. Method of Recording. - The Authority shall record conveyances delivered to it in the
order of their receipt, in files kept for that purpose, indexed to show:

(a) The identifying description of the aircraft;

(b) The names of the parties to the conveyance;

(c) The date of the instrument and the date and time it is recorded;

(d) The interest in the aircraft transferred by the conveyance;

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(e) If such conveyance is made as security for indebtedness, the amount and date of
maturity of such indebtedness; and

(f) All particular estates, mortgages, liens, leases, orders and other encumbrances and all
decrees, instruments, attachments or entries affecting aircraft and other matters properly
determined under this Act.

SEC. 53. Validity Before Filing. - Upon the establishment of a recording system in accordance
with the provisions of this Act, no document affecting the title to or any interest in such
registered aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, appliances, or spare parts shall be valid except as
between the parties thereto, unless the document is registered in such recording system.

SEC. 54. Previously Unrecorded Ownership. - Applications for the issuance or renewal of an
airworthiness certificate for aircraft whose ownership has not been recorded as provided in this
Act shall contain such information with respect to the ownership of the aircraft as the Director
General shall deem necessary to show who have property interests in such aircraft and the nature
and extent of such interest.

CHAPTER IX
AVIATION SAFETY POWERS AND FUNCTIONS

SEC. 55. General Powers and Functions. - (a) Promoting Safety - The Director General shall
have the pawer and duty to promote safety of flight of civil aircraft in civil aviation by
prescribing and revising from time to time as necessary:

(1) Reasonable rules and regulations implementing, at minimum, all standards of the
Annexes to the Chicago Convention; and

(2) Such other reasonable rules, regulations, or minimum standards governing other
practices, methods, and procedures as the Director General may find necessary to provide
adequately for safety in civil aviation.

(b) Considerations in the Regulation of Air Operators - In prescribing standards, rules and
regulations, and in issuing certificates under this Act, the Director General shall take into
consideration the obligation of air operators to perform their services with the highest possible
degree of safety pursuant to public interest.

SEC. 56. Form of Applications. - Applications for certificates issued by virtue of this chapter
shall be in such form, contain such information, and be filed and served in such manner as the
Authority may prescribe and shall be under oath or affirmation whenever the Authority so
requires.

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A. Certification of Airmen

SEC. 57. Authority to Certificate Airmen. - The Director General is authorized to issue airmen
certificates specifying the capacity in which the holders thereof are authorized to serve as airman
in connection with an aircraft.

SEC. 58. Application and Issuance. - Any individual may file with the Director General an
application for an airman certificate. If the Director General finds, after due investigation, that
such individual possesses the proper qualifications for, and is physically able to, perform the
duties pertaining to the position for which the airman certificate is sought, the Director General
shall issue such certificate.

SEC. 59. Terms and Conditions. - The airman certificate shall contain such terms, conditions
and tests of physical fitness, and other matters as may be necessary to assure safety in civil
aviation.

SEC. 60. Contents. - Each airman certificate shall:

(a) Be numbered and recorded by the Authority;

(b) State the name and address of, and contain a description of the individual to whom the
airman certificate is issued; and

(c) Be titled with the designation of the airman and its authorized privileges.

B. Airworthiness Certificate

SEC. 61. Authority to Issue Airworthiness Certificates. - The owner of any aircraft registered
in accordance with this Act may file with the Director General an application for an
airworthiness certificate for such aircraft.

SEC. 62. Issuance. - If it is found that the aircraft conforms to the appropriate type of certificate
and, after inspection, finds that the aircraft is in a condition allowing for safe operation, an
airworthiness certificate shall be issued by the Director General.

SEC. 63. Terms and Conditions. the Director General shall prescribe in the airworthiness
certificate the duration of such certificate, the types of service for which the aircraft may be used,
and such other terms, conditions, limitations and information as are required in the interest of
safety. Each airworthiness certificate issued by the Director General shall be recorded by it.

SEC. 64. Airworthiness Approvals. - The Director General may prescribe the terms under
which additional airworthiness approvals, for purposes of modification, may be made.

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C. Air Operator Certificate

SEC. 65. Authority to Certificate Carriers and Establish Safety Standards. - The Director
General is authorized to issue air operator certificates and to establish minimum safety standards
for the operation of the air carrier to which any such certificate is issued.

SEC. 66. Application and Issuance. - Any air carrier who is a citizen of the Philippines may file
with the Director General an application for an air operator certificate. If the Director General
finds, after thorough investigation, that such air carrier is properly and adequately equipped and
has demonstrated the ability to conduct a safe operation in accordance with the requirements of
this Act and the rules, regulations and standards issued pursuant thereto, the Director General
shall issue an air operator certificate to such air carrier: Provided, however, That in no event shall
the Director General issue an air operator certificate to an air carrier that does not possess a valid
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) issued pursuant to this Act and its
implementing rules.

D. Aviation Schools and Approved Maintenance Organizations

SEC. 67. Examination and Rating. - The Director General is authorized to provide for the
examination and rating of:

(a) The adequacy of the course of instruction, the suitability and airworthiness of the
equipment and the competency of the instructors of civilian schools providing instruction
in flying or in the repair, alteration, maintenance, and overhaul of aircraft, aircraft
engines, propellers and appliances; and

(b) The adequacy and suitability of the equipment, facilities and materials for, and
methods of, repair and overhaul, and the competency of those engaged in the work or
giving any instruction in accredited maintenance organizations or shops engaged in the
repair, alteration, maintenance and overhaul of aircraft engines, propellers and appliances.

SEC. 68. Air Navigation Facility Safety Standards. - (a) Minimum Safety Standards -The
Director General shall have the power to prescribe and revise, from time to time as necessary,
minimum safety standards for the operation of air navigation facilities located in the Philippines.

(b) Certification of Airports - (1) The Director General is empowered to issue airport certificates
to, and to establish minimum safety standards for the operation of, airports that serve any
scheduled or unscheduled passenger operations of air operator or foreign air operator aircraft.

(2) Any person desiring to operate an airport that is described in this section and that is
required hy the Director General, by rule, to be certified may file with the Director
General an application for an airport operating certificate. If the Director General finds,

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after investigation, that such person is properly and adequately equipped and able to
conduct a safe operation in accordance with the requirements of this Act and the rules and
regulations, and standards prescribed thereunder, the Director General shall issue an
airport operating certificate to such person. Each airport operating certificate shall
prescribe such terms, conditions and limitations as are reasonably necessary to assure
safety in commercial air transport. Unless the Director General determines that it would
be contrary to public interest, such terms, conditions and limitations shall include, but not
limited to, terms and conditions, relating to:

(i) The operation and maintenance of adequate safety equipment, including fire
fighting and rescue equipment capable of rapid access to any portion of the airport
used for landing, takeoff, or surface maneuvering of aircraft; and

(ii) The condition and maintenance of primary and secondary runways as the
Director General determines to be necessary.

SEC. 69. Duties and Operations of Airmen. - It shall be the duty of:

(a) Each air carrier to make or cause to be made, such inspection, maintenance, overhaul
and repair of all equipment used in air transport and to ensure that the operations
conducted are in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules, regulations,
directives and orders issued by virtue of this Act;

(b) Each air carrier holding an air operator certificate to ensure that the maintenance of
aircraft and operations thereof are conducted in the public interest and in accordance with
the requirements of this Act and the rules, regulations, directives and orders issued by
virtue of this Act;

(c) Each holder of an airman certificate to observe and comply with the authority and
limitations of that certificate, the requirements of this Act and the rules, regulations,
directives and orders issued by virtue of this Act;

(d) Every person performing duties in air transportation to observe and comply with the
requirements of this Act and the rules, regulations, directives and orders issued by virtue
of this Act; and

(e) Every person who offers or accepts shipments, cargo or baggage in air commerce to
offer or accept such shipments, cargo or baggage in accordance with the provisions of
Annex 18 ofthe Chicago Convention and the ICA0 Technical Instructions for the Safe
Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.

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SEC. 70. Authority to Inspect. - (a) Authority to Inspect Equipment - The Director General
shall have the power and duty to:

(1) Make such inspections of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers and appliances used by
an operator of civil aircraft as may be necessary to determine that the operators are
maintaining the safe condition for the operation in which they are used; and

(2) Advise each operator in the inspection and maintenance of these items.

(b) Unsafe Aircraft, Engines, Propellers and Appliances - When the Director General finds that
any aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller or appliance, used or intended to be used by any operator
in civil aviation, is not in a condition for safe operation, the Director General shall notify the
operator. Such aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller or appliance then shall not be used in civil
aviation or in such manner also to endanger civil aviation, unless found by the Director General
to be in a condition for safe operation.

SEC. 71. Amendment, Modifications, Suspension and Revocation of Certificates. - (a) Re-
inspection and Reexamination - The Director General may, from time to time, for any reason,
reinspect or reexamine any civil aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, air operator,
school, with approved maintenance organization, or any civil airman holding a certificate issued
under this Act.

(b) Actions of the Director General - If, as a result of any such re-inspection or reexamination, or
if, as a result of any other investigation made by the Director General, the Director General
determines that safety in civil aviation or commercial air transport and the public interest
requires, the Director General may issue an order amending, modifying, suspending or revoking,
in whole or in part, any airworthiness certificate, airman certificate, air operator certificate or
certificate for any airport, school, or approved maintenance organization issued under this Act.

(c) Notice to Certificate Holders and Opportunity to Answer - Prior to amending, modifying,
suspending or revoking any of the foregoing certificates, the Director General shall advise the
holder thereof as to any charge or reason relied upon by the Director General for the proposed
action and, except in cases of emergency, shall provide the holder of such certificate opportunity
to answer any charges and be heard as to why such certificate should not be amended, modified,
suspended or revoked.

(d) Appeals - Any person whose certificate is affected by such an order of the Director General
under this section may file his motion for reconsideration within five (5) days from receipt
thereof and in case of denial shall, within ten (IO) days, file his appeal to the Board.

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(e) Effectiveness of Orders Pending Appeal - The filing of motion for reconsideration or appeal
as provided for under this Act shall not stay the effectiveness of the Director General's order
except through an injunctive relief duly issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

SEC. 72. Prohibitions. - (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to:

(1) Operate in civil aviation any civil aircraft which there is not currently in effect a
certificate of airworthiness and registration, or in violation of the terms of any such
certificate and operation of the aircraft in a careless and reckless manner and operation of
aircraft in contravention of its approved operating limitations and manual;

(2) Serve in any capacity as an airman in connection with any civil aircraft, aircraft
engine, propeller or appliance used or intended for use in civil aviation without an airman
certificate authorizing that person to serve in such capacity, or in violation of any term,
condition or limitation of his certificate, or in violation of any order, rule or regulation
issued under this Act:

(3) Employ for service in connection with any civil aircraft used in civil aviation an
airman who does not have an airman certificate authorizing that person to serve in the
capacity for which the person is employed;

(4) Operate as an air operator without an air operator certificate or in violation of the
terms of any such certificate;

(5) Operate aircraft in civil aviation in violation of any rule, regulation, or certificate
issued by the Director General under this Act; and

(6) While holding a certificate issued to a school or approved maintenance organization


as provided in this Act, to violate any term, condition or limitation thereof, to violate any
order, rule or regulation made under this Act relating to the holder of such certificate.

(b) Considering that the aircraft operation is impressed with public interest, the Director General
may prescribe exemptions of the foregoing provisions for foreign aircraft and airmen.

CHAPTER X
OTHER POWERS

SEC. 73. Statutory Lien. - The Director General, after complying with the required legal
formalities provided by law, shall have the power to impose lien on aircraft and machinery:

(a) If the charges and other fees are not paid in full on due date or any part of the charges
or the late payment penalty thereto remains unpaid; and

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(b) Failure to pay administrative fines arising from violation of any rules and regulations
promulgated by the Authority.

SEC. 74. Lien on Personal and Real Properties. - The Director General shall have the power
to impose lien on personal and real properties, and other assets of persons, corporations,
partnerships, and such other entities that shall be in default, or fail to perform their obligations,
or fail to pay the fines and other penalties imposed for violations of the law, rules and regulations
of the Authority.

Properties and assets levied upon may be sold and the proceeds thereof shall be applied to the
satisfaction of the obligation after due notice and hearing.

SEC. 75. Police Authority. - The Director General shall have the power to exercise such police
authority as may be necessary within the premises of airports under its jurisdiction to carry out
its functions and attain its purposes and objectives. The grant of such powers shall be in
conformity with the functions exclusively provided by law to be exercised by the Philippine
National Police and other concerned government agencies: Provided, That the Authority may
request the assistance of other law enforcement agencies, including request for deputization as
may be required. Such police authority shall be exercised in connection with the following:

(a) Maintenance of security to passengers, cargoes, aircraft, airport equipment, structures,


facilities, personnel, funds and documents;

(b) Regulating the entry to, exit from and movement within an airport;

(c) Maintenance of peace and order within the premises of an airport in coordination with
local police authorities and other authorized peace-keeping entities within an airport;

(d) Regulation and supervision of private security agencies operating within an airport;
and

(e) Enforcement of rules and regulations promulgated by the Board pursuant to the
authority granted under this Act.

SEC. 76. Regulation of Building Heights. - The Board shall have the power to regulate the
height of buildings, towers, antennae, and other edifices, situated within the vicinity of or in
close proximity to airports estimated to endanger the flight of aircrafts. It shall also have the
power to prohibit or regulate the establishment and operations of electrical, electronics, sound,
magnetic, laser, or other electronic gadgets, equipment or installations which will tend to
interfere with or impair air navigation in accordance with the international standards and
recommended practices on airports, as recommended by the ICAO.

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SEC. 77. Authority Respecting the Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Air. - The
Director General shall monitor and enforce compliance of the rules and regulations concerning
the carriage of goods by air in relation to Annex 18 of the Chicago Convention and the ICAO
Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.

SEC. 78. Development of New Airports. - The Board shall be responsible for the planning,
development, construction, operation, maintenance, or the expansion of airports. In planning and
developing new airports, the Board shall consider:

(a) The suitability of a proposed site in terms of terrain and proximity to population
center(s);

(b) The projected size of the market to be served by a proposed airport;

(c) The ability of a proposed airport to generate sufficient revenue to cover costs of
operation and maintenance;

(d) The availability of funding from both local and foreign sources for the construction of
a new airport or expansion of an existing one;

(e) The proximity of other airports to a proposed new airport and the capability of such
other airport to handle traffic projected to be handled by the new proposed airport;

(f) The government's public service obligations, more particularly the government's duty
to ensure the availability of air transport infrastructure for remote areas far from major
population centers and that are not otherwise easily accessible by transportation via land
or sea. In such cases, the Board shall take reasonable steps to ensure that funding will be
available for the operation and maintenance of such airports;

(g) ICAO best practices and recommendations concerning the development of airports;
and

(h) Such other considerations as the Board, in the exercise of its reasonable discretion,
may consider relevant or important.

CHAPTER XI
PENALTIES

SEC. 79. Power of the Authority to Investigate Violations. - Correlative to the provisions of
Section 36 of this Act, the Director General at his own volition, or at the instance of a private
person, or upon the initiative of the Board, may conduct investigations based on the procedures
that the Board may prescribe and using the Rules of Court as its suppletory guidelines.

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SEC. 80. Power to Direct an Immediate Halt to an Offending Practice. - The Director
General, after due investigation conducted, may issue a cease and desist order directing an air
carrier(s) to immediately cease any practice found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act.
Such order shall be without prejudice to the civil or criminal prosecution of persons or
individuals found to be involved in practices prohibited under Chapter XI of this Act.

SEC. 81. Penalties. - (a) The Director General, after due notice and hearing, is authorized to
impose the following fines and penalties for each violation of this Act:

(1) Any person who operates any aircraft without the current airworthiness certificate, in
violation of my rule, regulation or order issued by the Director General relating to
aeronautical safety standards or practices or procedures shall be punished by a fine
ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (Php20,000.00) to Fifty thousand pesos
(Php50,000.00) for the 1st offense, suspension of the license for three (3) months for the
2nd offense and revocation or cancellation of such license for the 3rd offense;

(2) Any person serving in any capacity as an airman in connection with any civil aircraft
in violation of the terms, conditions or limitations of any such airman license or
certificate, or in excess of the rating of such certificate, shall be punished by a fine
ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (Php20,000.00) to Fifty thousand pesos
(Php50,000.00) for the 1st offense, suspension of the license for three (3) months for the
2nd offense and revocation or cancellation of such license for the 3rd offense. The
repetition of this offense shall be sufficient cause for the revocation of the airman's
certificate;

(3) Any person who employs in connection with any aircraft used in air commerce an
airman who does not have an airman's certificate authorizing him to serve in the capacity
for which he is employed shall be punished by a fine ranging from Fifty thousand pesos
(Php50,000.00) to One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000.00), as determined by the
Director General in the exercise of his reasonable discretion. A repetition of the offense
shall be sufficient cause for revocation of such person's certificate authorizing it to
engage in air carrier operation;

(4) Any person who was issued by the Director General relating to air carrier operation,
aviation school, aircraft maintenance, and other civil aviation regulated activity which are
being certificated and regulated by the Director General who have been found to have
violated any term, condition or limitation thereof, or violates any order, rule or regulation
issued by virtue of this Act relating to the holder of such certificate shall be punished by a
fine ranging from Three hundred thousand pesos (Php300,000.00) to Five hundred
thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), as determined by the Director General in the exercise of

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his reasonable discretion. The repetition of this offense shall be sufficient cause for the
revocation of such person's certificate.

(5) No person shall interfere, obstruct, hinder, or delay the Director General or any person
duly delegated by the Director General, in the performance of his duties pursuant to
public interest. A fine ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (Php20,000.00) but not
exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000.00), as determined by the Director
General in the exercise of his reasonable discretion, shall be imposed upon anyone who:

(i) With intent to interfere in the performance of the duties of the Director General
or any person duly delegated by the Director General, shall knowingly or willfully
alter, falsify, mutilate any report, accounts, records, books, papers, contracts,
agreement and all other documents; or

(ii) Shall knowingly and willfully fail or refuse: (a) to make and/or submit aircraft
maintenance or flight logbooks, contracts, manuals, technical reports and all other
documents required to be submitted by him for consideration before the Director
General or his duly authorized representative; or (b) to keep or preserve records,
reports, papers and all other documents required by the Director General or his
duly authorized representative; or

(iii) Is guilty of misconduct in the presence of the Director General or his duly
authorized representative, or to any member of the Board in the performance of
their quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative functions or so near as to obstruct or
interrupt the hearing or session or any proceedings before the Director General or
any of his duly authorized representative; or shall orally or in writing
disrespectfully offend or insult any of the above-named bodies or persons on the
occasion of or in the performance of their official duties or during any hearing,
session, or investigation held by the Director General or his duly authorized
representative; or

(iv) Refuses to be sworn in as a witness or to answer as such when lawfully


required to do so: Provided, That the Director General or his duly authorized
representative shall, if necessary, be entitled to the assistance of law enforcement
officials for the execution of any order to compel a witness to be present or to
testify; or

(v) Neglects or refuses to attend and/or testify and/or to answer any lawful inquiry
or to produce books, papers or documents, if in his power to do so, in obedience
to the subpoena or lawful requirement of the Director General or his duly
authorized representative; or

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(vi) Testifies falsely or makes false affidavits or both before the Director General
or his duly authorized representative.

(b) The following penalties may only be imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction after the
filing of a proper criminal complaint therein by the Director General and a finding of guilt:

(1) Any person who operates any aircraft without a valid or current license or ratings or in
violation of rule, regulation or order issued by the Director General relating to
aeronautical safety standards or practices or procedures shall be punished by
imprisonment for not more than three (3) years or a fine ranging from Fifty thousand
pesos (Php50,000.00) but not exceeding Two hundred thousand pesos (Php200,000.00),
or both, at the discretion of the court;

(2) Any person who knowingly and willfully forges, counterfeits, alters or falsifies any
certificate or aviation certificate authorized to be issued pursuant to the provisions of this
Act, or knowingly uses or attempts to use any such fraudulent certificate or aviation
certificate, and any person who knowingly and willfully displays or causes to be
displayed on any aircraft any marks that are false or misleading as to the nationality or
registration of the aircraft shall be punished by imprisonment ranging from three (3)
years to six (6) years or a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos
(php100,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or
both, as determined by the court;

(3) Any person who shall use for flight operation an unregistered aircraft or engaged in
the operation of aviation school, aircraft maintenance facilities, aircraft material
distributorship, air carrier operations or any other civil aviation regulated activities
without the required air agency certificate issued by the Director General shall be
punished by imprisonment ranging from three (3) years to seven (7) years or a fine of not
less than One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred
thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the court;

(4) Any person found guilty of violating the conditions attendant to the issuance of the
airworthiness certificate of the aircraft shall be subjected to imprisonment ranging from
three (3) years to seven (7) years or a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos
(Php100,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or
both, as determined by the court;

(5) Any person who destroys or seriously damages the facilities of an airport or disrupts
the services of an airport shall be subjected to imprisonment ranging from one (1) year to
three (3) years or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not

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exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the
court; and

(6) No person shall interfere with air navigation. An imprisonment for not more than
three (3) years or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not
exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the
court, shall be imposed upon any person who:

(i) With intent to interfere with air navigation within the Philippines, exhibits
within the Philippines any light or signal at such place or in such manner that it is
likely to be mistaken for a true light or signal established pursuant to this Act or
for a true light or signal in connection with an airport or other air navigation
facility; or

(ii) After due warning by the Director General, of his duly authorized
representative, continues to maintain any misleading light or signal; or

(iii) Knowingly removes, extinguishes, or interferes with the operation of any true
light or signal;

(7) Any person who destroys or damages air navigation facilities or interferes with their
operation shall be subjected to imprisonment from one (1) year to three (3) years or a fine
of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred
thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the court. If such act
endangers the safety of air navigation, the court may impose an increased penalty of
imprisonment from three (3) years to six (6) years or a fine ranging from Five hundred
thousand pesos (Php500,000.00) to One million pesos (Php1,000,000.00) [Convention for
Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed at Montreal,
23 September 1971, Art. 1(d)];

(8) Any person who, whether on board or on the ground, communicates false information
to an aircraft and thereby endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight shall be subjected
to imprisonment from one (1) year to three (3) years or a fine of not less than Fifty
thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos
(Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the court. [Convention for Suppression of
Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed at Montreal, 23 September
1971, Art. 1(e)];

(9) Any person who, while on board an aircraft, interferes with a crewmember's or flight
attendant's performance of their duties, assaults, intimidates, or threatens any
crewmember or flight attendant, shall be subjected to imprisonment from one (1) year to

101
three (3) years or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not
exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the
court;

(10) Any person who, while on board or while attempting to board, any aircraft in or
intended for operation in commercial air transport, has, on or about his person or his
property, a concealed deadly or dangerous weapon which is, or would be accessible to
such person in flight, or any person who has on or about his person, or who has placed, or
attempted to place aboard such aircraft any bomb or similar explosive or incendiary
device, shall be subjected to imprisonment from three (3) years to six (6) years or a fine
of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000.00) but not exceeding Five
hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the court.

This subsection shall not apply to persons duly authorized by the Director General to
carry deadly or dangerous weapons in commercial air transport nor shall it apply to other
persons transporting weapons contained in baggage that is not accessible to passengers in
flight if the presence of such weapons has been declared to the air carrier and duIy
approved by the proper authority;

(11) Any person who imparts or conveys or causes to be imparted or conveyed false
information, knowing the information to be false, concerning an attempt or alleged
attempt being made or to be made to do an act which would be a crime prohibited by
clauses (8), (9) and (10) of this section, shall be subjected to imprisonment from one (1)
year to three (3) years or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but
not exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by
the court. [Convention for Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil
Aviation, signed at Montreal, 23 September 1971, Art. 1(e)];

(12) Any person who, while on board an aircraft, commits any other act not otherwise
expressly covered under clauses (8), (9), (10) and (11) above which jeopardizes the safety
of the aircraft or of persons or property therein, or which jeopardizes good order and
discipline on board such aircraft shall be subjected to imprisonment from six (6) months
to three (3) years or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not
exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the
court. [Convention on Offenses and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft,
signed at Tokyo, 14 September 1963, Art. 1(b)];

(13) Any person who knowingly and without authority removes, conceals or withholds
any part of an aircraft involved in an aircraft accident or any property on board such
aircraft at the time of th e aircraft accident shall be subjected to imprisonment from three
(3) years to six (6) years or a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos

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(Php100,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or
both, as determined by the court: and

(14) Any person who willfully delivers or causes to be delivered to an air carrier for air
transport, or if that person recklessly causes the transportation in air transport, of any
shipment, cargo, baggage or other property in violation of the provisions of Annex 18 of
the Chicago Convention and the ICAO Technical Instruction for the Safe Transport of
Dangerous Goods by Air, or the corresponding rules and regulations issued by the
Authority shall be subjected to imprisonment from one (1) year to three (3) years or a fine
of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000.00) but not exceeding Five
hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, as determined by the court.

The provisions of paragraph (b), clauses (9), (10), (11) and (12) above shall apply to any aircraft
located within the special jurisdiction of the Philippines. Exercise by the Director General of the
powers granted to him under paragraph (a) above shall not be a bar to a subsequent criminal
prosecution in court for the same act pursuant to the provisiom of paragraph (b).

SEC. 82. General Penalty. - Any violation of the provisions of this Act, or any order, rule or
regulation issued thereunder, or any term, condition or limitation of any certificate or license
issued under this Act for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be punished by a fine
ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (Php20,000.00) to One hundred thousand pesos
(Php100,000.00) for each violation.

SEC. 83. Penalty Considerations. - In determining the amount of any such penalty, the Director
General shall take into account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation and,
with respect to the person found to have committed the violation, the degree of culpability,
history of prior offenses, ability to pay, effect on ability to continue to do business, and such
other matters as justice may require.

SEC. 84. Inflation Adjustment to Civil Penalties. - The Director General shall adjust the
monetary level of the penalties, as may be authorized by the Board to impose, at least once every
four (4) years: Provided, That the Board shall promulgate such revised penalties in accordance
with the Administrative Code of the Philippines and economic/monetary index provided by the
Monetary Board, including any revision or successor thereto.

CHAPTER XII
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

SEC. 85. Abolition of the Air Transportation Office. - The Air Transportation Office (ATO)
created under Republic Act No. 776, a sectoral office of the Department of Transportation and
Communications (DOTC), is hereby abolished.

103
All powers, duties and rights vested by law and exercised by the AT0 is hereby transferred to the
Authority.

All assets, real and personal properties, funds and revenues owned by or vested in the different
offices of the AT0 are transferred to the Authority. All contracts, records and documents relating
to the operations of the abolished agency and its offices and branches are likewise transferred to
the Authority. Any real property owned by the national government or government-owned
corporation or authority which is being used and utilized as office or facility by the AT0 shall be
transferred and titled in favor of the Authority.

SEC. 86. Transfer of Personnel of Air Tramportation Office. - To ensure smooth transition
into a corporate structure, the incumbent Assistant Secretary of the AT0 shall continue to hold
office and assume the powers of the Director General until his successor shall have been
appointed and inducted into office in accordance with this Act. However, affected officials and
personnel, with appointments attested by the Civil Service Commission, whether hired on a
permanent or temporary basis, who would opt to retire or to be separated from the service, and
those hired on a casual or contractual basis, if qualified, shall be given the option to avail
themselves of any of the following, whichever is beneficial to them:

(a) Retirement gratuity provided under Republic Act No. 1616, as amended, plus the
refund of retirement premiums payable by the Government Service Insurance System
(GSIS), without the incentive herein provided;

(b) Retirement benefit under Republic Act No. 660 or applicable retirement, separation or
unemployment benefit provided under Republic Act No. 8291, if qualified, plus the
following applicable incentives:

(1) One half (1/2) month of the present basic salary for every year of government
service and a fraction thereof, for those who have rendered twenty (20) years of
service and below;

(2) Three-fourth (3/4) month of the present basic salary for every year of
government service and a fraction thereof, computed starting from the 1 st year, for
those who have rendered twenty-one (21) to thirty (30) years of service; and

(3) One (1) month of the present basic salary for every year of government service
and a fraction thereof, computed starting from the l st year, for those who have
rendered thirty-one (31) years of service and above: Provided, That the GSIS shall
pay, on the day of separation, the retirement/separation/unemployment benefits to
which an affected employee may be entitled to under Republic Act No. 660 or
Republic Act No. 8291 and whenever there is an option, the one which the

104
affected employee has chosen as the most beneficial to him/her: Provided, further,
That for the purpose of complying with the required number of years of service
under Republic Act No. 8291, the portability scheme under Republic Act No.
7699 may be applied, subject to existing policies and guidelines; and

(c) Those with less than three (3) years of government service may opt to avail of the
separation gratuity under Republic Act No. 6656, plus the appropriate incentive provided
under paragraph (b) of this section.

No affected employee who opted for retirement/separation shall receive less than an aggregate of
Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) as his retirement/separation gratuity from both the national
government and the GSIS.

SEC. 87. Organization of the Authority. - Any officer/employee who availed the benefits of
the foregoing provisions shall not qualify for reemployment to the Authority within seven (7)
years from the date of retirement/resignation.

SEC. 88. Saving Clause. - Unless otherwise provided in this Act, rights or privileges vested or
acquired under the provisions of Republic Act No. 776, as amended, its rules and regulations
prior to the effectivity of this Act shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 89. Legal Counsel. - The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel shall act as the
external legal counsel of the Authority before any court of law or any quasi-judicial bodies of the
government without prejudice of any deputation or designation that it may issue in favor of the
in-house counsel of the Authority.

SEC. 90. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Authority shall adopt rules and
regulations to implement the provisions of this Act within sixty (60) days from the date of its
approval.

SEC. 91. Congressional Oversight Committee. - A Congressional Oversight Committee,


hereinafter referred to as the "Committee", is hereby constituted in accordance with the
provisions of this Act. The Committee shall be composed of the Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Public Services and Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and
four (4) additional members from each House to be designated by the Senate President and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively. The Committee shall, among others, in
aid of legislation:

(a) Monitor and ensure the proper implementation of this Act;

(b) Review the collection performance of the Authority;

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(c) Review the proper implementation of the programs of the Authority and the use of its
collected fund.

In furtherance of the hereinabove cited ohjectives, the Committee is empowered to require the
Authority to submit all pertinent information including, but not limited to, its collection
performance data and its annual audited financial statements certified by the Commission on
Audit.

The Congressional Oversight Committee shall be in existence for a period of five (5) years, and
thereafter, its oversight functions shall be exercised by the Senate Committee on Public Services
and the House Committee on Transportation acting separately.

SEC. 92. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act shall be declared
unconstitutional, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby, shall
continue in full force and effect.

SEC. 93. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or parts
thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly,
including provisions of any law, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or part thereof
which provides exemptions to any air carrier, organization or entity from payment of any Civil
Aviation Authority of the Philippines imposed fees and charges, relating to, but not limited to,
navigation, communication, concession, license and permit.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Act shall diminish the powers and functions of the
Manila International Airport Authority created by virtue of Executive Order No. 903, series of
1983; Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority as regards the Subic Bay International Airport created
by virtue of Republic Act No. 7227; Clark International Airport Corporation as regards the
Diosdado Macapagal International Airport Authority, created by virtue of Executive Order No.
193, series of 2003; and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority created by virtue of
Republic Act No. 6958.

SEC. 94. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication
in at least newspapers of general circulation.

Requirements to secure the authority.

Under the Article XII, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that:

106
Sec. 11. No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public
utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations
organized under the laws of the Philippines at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned
by such citizens, nor shall such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or
for a longer period than fifty years. Neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except
under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the Congress
when the common good so requires. The State shall encourage equity participation in public
utilities by the general public. The participation of foreign investors in the governing body of any
public utility enterprise shall be limited to their proportionate share in its capital, and all the
executive and managing officers of such corporation or associations must be citizens of
the Philippines.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND


COMMUNICATION
(Action Agad Center)
107
108
(DOTC)

Department of Transportation and Communication

History

From 1899 to 1979 all transportation and communications activities were integrated into the
structure and activities of what is now today the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Early history

On July 28, 1979, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), headed by
Minister Jos P. Dans Jr. was formally created pursuant to Executive Order No. 546. Under this
Executive Order, the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Communications (MPWTC)
was divided into two separate ministries: The Ministry of Transportation and Communications
(MOTC) and the Ministry of Public Works and Highways (MPWH).

The MOTC became the primary policy, planning, programming, coordinating, implementing and
administrative entity of the executive branch of the government in the promotion, development
and regulation of a dependable and coordinated network of transportation and communication
systems.

The infrastructure projects undertaken during this period included:

Light Rail Transit System


Computer-Controlled Traffic Lights System
Manila International Airport now Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Central Post Offices in Makati, Caloocan, Quezon City, and San Juan

It was also during this period that the motor vehicle registration and control was improved with
the introduction of permanent vehicle license plates and the staggered registration system. A bus
leasing program provided an additional 1,000 new buses in Metro Manila.

109
The operations of both the Philippine National Railways and the Metro Manila Transit
Corporation were improved and expanded. At the same time, the Manila South Line of the PNR
serving the Bicol Region was rehabilitated.

Post-EDSA 1986

On February 26, 1986, just after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, Congressman Hernando B. Prez
was appointed Minister of Transportation and Communication by PresidentCorazon C. Aquino.

In March 1987, technocrat Rainerio O. Reyes, was appointed Minister of MOTC. Immediately
after, the MOTC was reorganized pursuant to Executive Order Nos. 125, and 125-A. With these
Executive Orders, the MOTC was made into a Department, under the Executive branch of the
Government.

Under Secretary Reyes, the quasi-judicial functions of the Department were transferred to the
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, which was created through Executive
Order No. 202.

Under Fidel V. Ramos

Jesus B. Garcia was appointed Secretary of the DOTC by President Fidel V. Ramos. Under
Garcia, new entrants were allowed in the landline and cellular phone services, dilapidated taxi
cabs were also phased out in favor of brand new and late model units.

Present

At present, the DOT is expected to pursue numerous projects as part of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo's thrust of improving and expanding the country's infrastructure to promote
tourism and investment, as outlined in her 2006 State of the Nation Address.

By 2016, the foundation of the Department of Information and Communications


Technology caused the DOTC to become simply the DOTr as the DICT transferred the DOTC's
comminications agencies to it.

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Attached Agencies

Land (Road)
Land Transportation Office (LTO)
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)
Toll Regulatory Board (TRB)

Rail
Philippine National Railways (PNR)
Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA)
Metro Rail Transit Corporation Though MRTC is not under the government, the DOTC
supervises the operation of the MRT-3 (MRTC)
North Luzon Railways Corporation (NORTHRAIL)

Air
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)
Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation (PADC)
Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC)
Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA-NAIA)
Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA)

Sea
Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA)
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)
Cebu Port Authority (CPA)

Miscellaneous
Office for Transportation Security (OTS)
Office for Transportation Cooperatives (OTC)

Contact Information:

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Trunkline: (632)790-8300/790-8400
Telefax: (632)723-4925
DOTr Action Center Hotline: 7890
actioncenter@dotc.gov.ph
webmaster@dotc.gov.ph

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10844

AN ACT CREATING THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION AND


COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND FUNCTIONS
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress


assembled:

SECTION 1. Short. Title. This Act shall be known as the Department of Information And
Communications Technology Act of 2015.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the State:

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(a) To recognize the vital role of information and communication in nation-building;

(b) To ensure the provision of strategic, reliable, cost-efficient and. citizen-centric information
and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, systems and resources as instruments of
good governance and global competitiveness;

(c) To ensure universal access to quality, affordable, reliable and secure Id services;

(d) To promote the development and widespread use of emerging ICT and foster and accelerate
the convergence of ICT and ICT-enabled facilities;

(e) To ensure the availability and accessibility of ICT services in areas not adequately served by
the private sector

(f) To foster an ICT sector policy environment that will promote a broad market-led development
of the ICT and ICT-enabled services (1CT-ES) sectors, a level playing field, partnership between
the public and private sectors, strategic alliance with foreign investors and balanced investments
between high-growth and economically-depressed areas;

(g) To promote and assist the development of local ICT content, applications and services which
may include support for ICT-based start-up enterprises through strategic partnerships;

(h) To promote the use of ICT for the enhancement of key public services, such as education,
public health and safety, revenue generation, and socio-civic purposes;

(i) To encourage the use of ICT for the development and promotion of the countrys arts and
culture, tourism and national identity;

(j) To promote digital literacy, ICT expertise, and knowledge-building among citizens to enable
them to participate and compete in an evolving ICT age:

(k) To empower, through the use of ICT, the disadvantaged segments of the population, including
the elderly, persons with disabilities and indigenous and minority groups;

(l) To ensure the rights of individuals to privacy and confidentiality of their personal information;

(m) To ensure the security of critical ICT infrastructures including information assets of the
government, individuals and businesses; and

(n) To provide oversight over agencies governing and regulating the ICT sector and ensure
consumer protection and welfare, data privacy and security, foster competition and the growth of
the ICT sector.

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SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act the following terms are defined as follows:

(a) Information and Communications Technology or ICT shall mean the totality of electronic
means to access, create, collect, store, process, receive, transmit, present and disseminate
information.

(b) Convergence shall mean the interface between and among various telephony, radio, video,
broadcasting and multimedia infrastructure, devices and services, enabling users or subscribers
thereof to communicate with one another;

(c) Electronic Government or E-Government shall mean the use of ICT by the government and
the public to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to bring about efficient,
responsive, ethical, accountable and transparent government service:

(d) ICT Sector shall mean those engaged in providing goods and services primarily intended to
fulfill or enable the function of information processing and communication by electronic means.
The ICT sector includes telecommunications and broadcast information operators, ICT
equipment manufacturers, multimedia content developers and providers, ICT solution providers,
internet service providers, ICT training institutions, software developers and ICT-ES providers;

(e) ICT-Enabled Services or ICT-ES Sector shall mean those engaged in providing services that
require the intrinsic use of Ids including engineering or architectural design, informatics service
providers, offshoring and outsourcing service providers such as call centers, back office
processing, software development, medical or legal transcription, animation, game development,
and other services that require the intrinsic use of a networked information infrastructure; and

(f) Chief Information Officer or CIO shall mean a senior officer in all national government
agencies (NGAs), including constitutional offices, state universities and colleges (SUCs),
government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and government financial institutions
(GFIs) responsible for the development and management of the agencys ICT systems and
applications.

SEC. 4. Creation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).


There is hereby created the Department of Information and Communications Technology7,
hereinafter referred to as the Department.

SEC. 5. Mandate. The Department shall be the primary policy, planning, coordinating,
implementing, and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government that will
plan, develop, and promote the national ICT development agenda

SEC. 6. Powers and Functions. The Department shall exercise the following powers and
functions:

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I. Policy and Planning

(a) Formulate, recommend and implement national policies, plans, programs and guidelines that
will promote the development and use of ICT with due consideration to the advantages of
convergence and emerging technologies;

(b) Formulate policies and initiatives, in coordination with the Department of Education
(DepED). the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), to develop and promote ICT in education consistent with the
national goals and objectives., and responsive to the human resource needs of the ICT and ICT-
ES sectors;

(c) Provide an integrated framework in order to optimize all government ICT resources and
networks for the identification and prioritization of all E-Government systems and applications
as provided for m the E-Government Masterplan and the Philippine Development Plan (PDP);

II. Improved Public Access

(d) Prescribe rules and regulations for the establishment, operation and maintenance of ICT
infrastructures in unserved and underserved areas, in consultation with the local government
units (LGUs), civil society organizations (CSOs). private sector, and the academe;

(e) Establish a free internet service that can be accessed in government offices and public areas
using the most cost-effective telecommunications technology, through partnership with private
service providers as may be necessary;

III. Resource-Sharing and Capacity-Building

(f) Harmonize and coordinate all national ICT plans and initiatives to ensure knowledge,
information and resource-sharing, database-building and agency networking linkages among
government agencies, consistent with E-Government objectives in particular, and national
objectives in general;

(g) Ensure the development and protection of integrated government ICT infrastructures and
designs, taking into consideration the inventory of existing manpower, plans, programs,
software, hardware, and installed systems;

(h) Assist and provide technical expertise to government agencies in the development of
guidelines in the enforcement and administration of laws, standards, rules, and regulations
governing ICT;

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(i) Assess, review and support ICT research and development programs of the government in
coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and other institutions
concerned;

(j) Prescribe the personnel qualifications and other qualification standards essential to the
effective development and operation of government ICT infrastructures and systems;

(k) Develop programs that would enhance the career advancement opportunities of ICT workers
in government;

(l) Assist in the dissemination of vital information essential to disaster risk reduction through the
use of ICT

(m) Represent and negotiate for Philippine interest on matters pertaining to ICT in international
bodies, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and other institutions
concerned;

IV. Consumer Protection and Industry Development

(n) Ensure and protect the rights and welfare of consumers and business users to privacy, security
and confidentiality in matters relating to ICT, in coordination with agencies concerned, the
private sector and relevant international bodies;

(o) Support the promotion of trade and investment opportunities in the ICT and ICT-ES sectors,
in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and other relevant government
agencies and the private sector;

(p) Establish guidelines for public-private partnerships in the implementation of ICT projects for
government agencies; and

(q) Promote strategic partnerships and alliances between and among local and international ICT,
research and development, educational and training institutions, to speed up industry growth and
enhance competitiveness of Philippine workers, firms, and small and medium enterprises in the
global markets for ICT and ICT-ES.

SEC. 7. Composition. The Department shall be headed by a Secretary. The Department proper
shall be composed of the Office of the Secretary, the Offices of the Undersecretaries and the
assistant secretaries.

SEC. 8. Secretary of Information and Communications Technology. The Secretary shall be


appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Commission on Appointments. The
Secretary shall have the following functions:

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(a) Provide executive direction and supervision over the entire operations of the Department and
its attached agencies,

(b) Establish policies and standards for the effective, efficient and economical operation of the
Department, in accordance with the programs of government;

(c) Review and approve requests for financial and manpower resources of all operating offices of
the Department:

(d) Designate and appoint officers and employees of the Department, excluding the
undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and regional and assistant regional directors, in accordance
with the civil service laws, rules and regulations;

(e) Exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees of the Department in accordance
with law, including their investigation and the designation of a committee or officer to conduct
such investigation:

(f) Coordinate with IX5Us. other agencies and public and private interest groups, including
nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and peoples organizations (POs) on Department policies
and initiatives;

(g) Prepare and submit to the President through the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM) an estimate of the necessary expenditures of the Department during the next fiscal year,
on the basis of the reports and estimates submitted by bureaus and offices under him/her;

(h) Serve as a member of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) as established by
Republic Act No. 9184;

(i) Advise the President on the promulgation of executive and administrative orders and
formulation of regulatory and. legislative proposals on matters pertaining to ICT development;

(j) Formulate such rules and regulations and exercise such other powers as may be required to
implement the objectives of this Act: and

(k) Perform such other tasks as may be provided by law or assigned by the President.

SEC. 9. Undersecretaries. The Secretary shall be assisted by three (3) undersecretaries, who
shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary: Provided, That
two (2) of the undersecretaries shall be career officers.

117
SEC.10. Assistant Secretaries. The Secretary shall be assisted by four (4) assistant secretaries
who shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary: Provided,
That two (2) of the assistant secretaries shall be career officers: Provided, further, That at least
one (1) of the assistant secretaries shall be a licensed Professional Electronics Engineer (PECE),
or any suitably qualified person in accordance with Civil Service Commission (CSC) rules and
regulations

SEC.11. Qualifications. No person shall be appointed Secretary, Undersecretary, or Assistant


Secretary of the Department unless he or she is a citizen and resident of the Philippines, of good
moral character, of proven integrity and with at least seven (7) years of competence and expertise
in any of the following: information and communications technology, information technology
service management, information security management, cybersecurity, data privacy. e-
Commerce, or human capital development in the ICT sector.

SEC. 12. Regional Offices The Department may establish, operate, and maintain a regional
office in the different administrative regions of the country as the need arises. Each regional
office shall be headed by a Regional Director, who may be assisted by one (1) Assistant Regional
Director. The Regional Director and Assistant Regional Director shall be appointed by the
President. The regional offices shall have, within their respective administrative regions, the
following functions:

(a) Implement laws, policies, plans, programs, projects, rules and regulations of the Department:

(b) Provide efficient and effective service to the people:

(c) Coordinate with regional offices of other departments, offices, and agencies;

(d) Coordinate with the LG Us; and

(e) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned by the Secretary.

SEC. 13. Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council. The Department shall facilitate the creation
of the CIO Council, which shall consist of CIOs, with the Secretary serving as the Chairman, to
assist the Department in the implementation of government ICT initiatives.

SEC. 14. Sectoral and Industry Task Forces. The Department may create sectoral and industry
task forces, technical working groups, advisory bodies or committees for the furtherance of its
objectives. Additional private sector representatives, such as from the academe, CSOs, and
federation of private industries directly involved in ICT, as well as representatives of other
NGAs. LGUs and GOCCs may be appointed to these working groups. Government IT
professionals may also be tapped to partake in the work of the Department through, these
working groups.

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SEC. 15. Transfer of Agencies and Personnel.

(a) The following agencies are hereby abolished, and their powers and functions, applicable
funds and appropriations, records, equipment, property, and personnel transferred to the
Department:

(1) Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO);

(2) National Computer Center (NCC);

(3) National Computer Institute (NCI);

(4) Telecommunications Office (TELOF):

(5) National Telecommunications Training Institute (NTTT); and

(6) All operating units of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) with
functions and responsibilities dealing with communications.

All offices, services, divisions, units and personnel not otherwise covered by this Act for transfer
to the Department shall be retained under the DOTC which is hereby renamed the Department of
Transportation.

(b) The following agencies are hereby attached, to the Department for policy and program
coordination, and shall continue to operate and function in accordance with the charters, laws or
orders creating them, insofar as they are not inconsistent with this Act:

(1) National Telecommunications Commission;

(2) National Privacy Commission; and

(3) Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC)

(i) All powers and functions related to cybersecurity including, but not limited to the formulation
of the National Cybersecurity Plan, establishment of the National Computer Emergency

119
Response Team (CERT), and the facilitation of international cooperation on intelligence
regarding cybersecurity matters are transferred to the Department; and

(ii) The CICC shall be chaired by the DICT Secretary.

(c) The laws and rules on government reorganization as provided for in Republic Act No. 6656,
otherwise known as the Reorganization Law, shall govern the reorganization process of the
Department.

SEC. 16. Separation and Retirement from Service. Employees who are separated from service
within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act as a result of the consolidation and/or
reorganization under the provisions of this Act shall receive separation benefits to which they
may he entitled under Executive Order No. 366, s. 2004: Provided, That those who are qualified
to retire under existing retirement laws shall be allowed to retire and receive retirement benefits
to which they may be entitled under applicable laws and issuances.

SEC. 17. Structure and Staffing Pattern. Subject to the approval of the DBM, the Department
shall determine its organizational structure and create new divisions or units as it may deem
necessary, and shall appoint officers and employees of the Department in accordance with the
civil service law, rules, and regulations.

SEC. 18. Magna Carta. Qualified employees of the Department and its attached agencies shall
be covered by Republic Act No. 3439, which provides a magna carta for scientists, engineers,
researchers and other science and technology personnel in tie government.

SEC. 19. Transition Period. The transfer of functions, assets, funds, equipment, properties,
transactions, and personnel of the affected agencies, and the formulation of the internal organic
structure, staffing pattern, operating system, and revised budget of tin Department, shall be
completed within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act, during which time, the existing
personnel shall continue to assume their posts in holdover capacities until new appointments are
issued: Provided, That after the abolition of tie agencies as specified in Section 15(a) of this Act,
the Department, in coordination with the DBM, shall determine and create new positions, the
funding requirements of which shall not exceed the equivalent cost of positions abolished.

SEC 20. Appropriation,. The amount needed for the initial implementation of this Act shall be
taken from the current fiscal years appropriation of the ICTO and all agencies herein absorbed.
by or attached to the Department. Thereafter, the amount needed for the operation and
maintenance of the Department shall be included in the General Appropriations Act

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SEC 21. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The ICTC, the DBM, the CSC, and other
government agencies concerned shall issue within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act.
the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 22. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional or
invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 23. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations and other
issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 24. Effectivtiy. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15; days after its publication in at least
two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND


REGULATORY BOARD

121
(LTFRB)
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board

Historical Background

The regulatory land transportation dates back to the early 1900s. The LTFRB therefore, is a
product of a series of transformations. The evolutionary progression runs as thus:

Coastwise Rate Commission - November 17, 1902


Supervising Railway Expert - June 29, 1906
Board of Public Utility Commissioners - December 19, 1913
Public Utilities Commission - March 9, 1917
Public Service Commission - 1926
Specialized Regulatory Boards - 1972
Board of Transportation - 1979
Land Transportation Commission (BOT & BLT) - 1985

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Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board 1987

Our Vision
World-class land transportation services contributing to the over-all development of the country,
improvement of the socio-economic status of its stakeholders, and promotion of the welfare of
the general public.

Our Mission
Ensure that the commuting public has adequate, safe, convenient, environment-friendly and
dependable public land transportation services at reasonable rates through the implementation of
land-based transportation policies, programs, and projects responsive to an investment-led and
demand-driven industry.

Our Mandate
To promulgate, administer, enforce, and monitor compliance of policies, laws, and regulations of
public land transportation services.

LTFRB Functions

Powers and Functions of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

The Board shall have the following powers and functions:

To prescribe and regulate routes of service, economically viable capacities and zones or areas of
operation of public land transportation services provided by motorized vehicles in accordance
with the public land transportation development plans and programs approved by the Department
of Transportation and Communications;

To issue, amend, revise, suspend or cancel Certificates of Public Convenience or permits


authorizing the operation of public land transportation services provided by motorized vehicles,
and to prescribe the appropriate terms and conditions therefore;

To determine, prescribe and approve and periodically review and adjust, reasonable fares, rates
and other related charges, relative to the operation of public land transportation services provided
by motorized vehicles;

To issue preliminary or permanent injunction, whether prohibitory or mandatory, in all cases in


which it has jurisdiction, and in which cases the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court shall
apply;

To punish for contempt of the Board, both direct and indirect, in accordance with the pertinent
provisions of, and the penalties prescribed by, the Rules of Court;
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To issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum and summon witnesses to appear in any
proceedings of the Board, to administer oaths and affirmations;

To conduct investigations and hearings of complaints for violation of the public service laws on
land transportation and of the Board's rules and regulations, orders, decisions and/or rulings and
to impose fines and/or penalties for such violations;

To review motu proprio the decisions/actions of the Regional Franchising and Regulatory Office
herein created;

To promulgate rules and regulations governing proceedings before the Board and the Regional
Franchising and Regulatory Office: Provided, That except with respect to paragraphs d, e, f and g
hereof, the rules of procedure and evidence prevailing in the courts of laws should not be
controlling and it is the spirit and intention of said rules that the Board and the Regional
Franchising and Regulatory Offices shall use every and all reasonable means to ascertain facts in
its case speedily and objectively and without regard to technicalities of law and procedures, all in
the interest of due process;

To fix, impose and collect, and periodically review and adjust, reasonable fees and other related
charges for services rendered;

To formulate, promulgate, administer, implement and enforce rules and regulations on land
transportation public utilities, standards of measurements and/or design, and rules and
regulations requiring operators of any public land transportation service to equip, install and
provide in their utilities and in their stations such devices, equipment facilities and operating
procedures and techniques as may promote safety, protection, comfort and convenience to
persons and property in their charges as well as the safety of persons and property within their
areas of operations;

To coordinate and cooperate with other government agencies and entities concerned with any
aspect involving public land transportation services with the end in view of effecting continuing
improvement of such services; and

To perform such other functions and duties as may be provided?? by law, or as may be necessary,
or proper or incidental to the purposes and objectives of this Executive Order.

Contact Us:

Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board

East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1100 Philippines

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Telephone Number :

Office of the Chairman : 426-2519 / 426-2505

Admin Division : 426-2501

Public Assistance : 426-2515

Email : complaint.ltfrb.gov.ph[AT]gmail.com

Reference:

- See more at: http://ltfrb.gov.ph/main/contactus#sthash.wJcNoXPH.dpuf

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 202

CREATING THE LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND


REGULATORY BOARD

WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation and Communicatios is vested with, among others,
quasi judicial powers and functions pursuant to Executive Order No. 125, as amended;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines do hereby order:
SECTION 1. Creation of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. - There is
hereby created in the Department ofTransportation and Communications, the Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board .
SEC. 2. Composition of the Board The Board shall be composed of a Chairman and two (2)
members with the same rank, salary and privileges of an Assistant Secretary, all of whom shall
be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of
Transportation and Communications. One (1) member of the Board shall be a member of the Bar
and shall have engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines for at least five (5) years, another
a holder of a degree in civil engineering, and the other a holder of a degree in economics, finance
or management both with the same number of years of experience and practice.
SEC. 3. Executive Director and Support Staff of the Board. The Board shall have an Executive
Director who shall also be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the
recommendation of the Secretary of Transportation and Communications. He shall have the rank,
salary and privileges of a Department Service Chief. He shall assist the Board in the performance
of its powers and functions.

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The Board shall be supported by the Technical Evaluation Division, Legal Division,
Management Information Division, Administrative Division and Finance Division.
SEC. 4. Supervision and Control over the Board. The Secretary of Transportation and
Communications, through his duly designated Undersecretary, shall exercise administrative
supervision and control over the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
SEC. 5. Powers and Functions of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. -
The Board shall have the following powers and functions :
a. To prescribe and regulate routes of service, economically viable capacities and zones or areas
of operation of public land transportation services provided by motorized vehicles in accordance
with the public land transportation development plans and programs approved by the Department
of Transportation and Communications;
b. To issue , amend, revise, suspend or cancel Certificates of Public Convenience or permits
authorizing the operation of public Land Transportation services provided by motorized vehicles,
and to prescribe the appropriate terms and conditions therefore;
c. To determine, prescribe and approve and periodically review and adjust, reasonable fares, rates
and other related charges, relative to the operation of public land transportation services
provided by motorized vehicles;
d. To issue preliminary or permanent injunctions, whether prohibitory or Mandatory, in all cases
in which it has jurisdiction, and in which cases the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court
shall apply;
e. To punish for contempt of the Board, both direct and indirect, in accordance with the pertinent
provisions of, and the penalties prescribe by, the Rules of Court;
f. To issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum and to summon witnesses to appear in any
proceedings of the Board, to administer oaths and affirmations;
g. To conduct investigations and hearings of complaints for violation of the public service laws
on land transportation and of the Boards rules and regulations, orders, decisions and/ or ruling
and to impose fines and/ or penalties for such violations;
h. To review motu propio the decisions/actions of the Regional Franchising and Regulatory
Office herein created;
i. To promulgate rules and regulations governing proceedings before the Board and the Regional
Franchising and Regulatory Office: Provided, That except with respect to paragraphs d,e,f and g
hereof, the rules of procedure and evidence prevailing in the courts of law should not be
controlling and it is the spirit and intention of said rules that the Board and the Regional
Franchising and Regulatory Offices shall use every and all reasonable means to ascertain facts in
its case speedily and objectively and without regard to technicalities of law and procedures, all in
the interest of due process;
j. To fix, impose and collect, and periodically review and adjust, reasonable fees and other
related charges for services rendered;

126
k. To formulate. Promulgate, administer, implement and enforce rules and Regulations on land
transportation public utilities, standard of measurements and/ or design, and rules and regulations
requiring operators of any public land transportation service to equip, install and provide in their
stations such devices, equipment facilities and operating procedures and techniques as may
promote safety, protection, comfort and convenience to persons and property in their charges as
well as the safety of persons and property within their areas of operations;
l. To coordinate and cooperate with other government agencies and entities Concerned with any
aspect involving public land transportation services with the end in view of effecting continuing
improvement of such services; and
m. To perform such other functions and duties as may be provided by law, as may be provided
by law, as may be necessary, or proper or incidental to the purposes and objectives of this
Executive Order.
SEC. 6 . Decision of the Board; Appeals Therefrom and / or Review Thereof. - The Board, in the
exercise of its powers and functions, shall sit and render its decision en banc. Every such
decision, order, or resolution of the Board must bear the concurrence and signature of at least to
(2 members thereof. The decision, order or resolution of the Board shall be appealable to the
Secretary within thirty (30) days from receipt of the decision: Provided, That the Secretary may
motu propio review any decision or action or the Board before the same becomes final.
SEC. 7. Creation of Regional Franchising and Regulatory Offices. - There shall be a Regional
Franchising and Regulatory Office in each of the administrative regions of the country which
shall be headed by a Board Regional Manager having the rank, salary and privileges of a
Department Assistant Regional Director. The Regional Franchising and Regulatory Offices shall
hear and decide uncontested application/ petitions for routes, within their respective
administrative regions: Provided, That applications/petitions for routes, extending their
respective territorial jurisdictions shall be heard and decided by the Board.
SEC. 8. Appeals. - The decisions, orders and resolutions of the Regional Franchising and
Regulatory Offices shall be appealable to the Board within thirty (30) days from receipt of the
decision.
SEC. 9. Appropriations. - Funds needed to carry out the provisions of this Executive Order shall
be taken from the funds available in the Department of Transportation and Communications.
Thereafter, the approved budget of the Board shall be included in the General Appropriations
Act.
SEC. 10. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 19th day of June, in the year of
Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty seven.

127
LAND TRANSPORTATION OFFICE

128
(LTO)

Land Transportation Office

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF LAND TRANSPORTATION OFFICE

The concept of land transportation system in the Philippines started when our ancestors invented
the means of locomotion with the animals in moving people and goods from place to
place.Although the means of land transportation during the early days were not as sophisticated
as the modern vehicles of today and the roads not as well constructed, the early Filipinos also
observed some laws to govern their mobility.These laws were as informal and simple as
specifying which animal could be used for certain purposes butthese showed that our ancestors
had already felt the need to regulate the transportation system.

As early as 1910, there were already few motor vehicles seen operating in public highways in
Manila and suburbs.

Better means of transportation were invented and introduced in the country. Gradually,the
Filipinos learned to use cars, trucks, jeeps and other types of vehicles.The meansof transportation
became better and powerful and the laws governing land travel became more formal and
modern.

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On February 6, 1912, Legislative Act No. 2159 was enacted to regulate motor vehicles in the
Philippine Islands and to provide for the regulation and licensing of operators. This was the first
formal law on land transportation passed by the legislature.This law created an Automobile
Section under the Administrative Division of the Bureau of Public Works. The Section was
tasked to take charge of motor vehicles and drivers services.

Later on, Legislative Act 2159 was amended by 2389, 2556, 2587, 2639 and 2925. In 1922, Act
No. 3045 was passed into law compiling and incorporating all laws governing motor
vehicles.The Automobile Section was upgraded to the Automobile Division under the Bureau of
Public Works.

On January 1, 1933, Act No. 3992 otherwise known as The Revised Motor Vehicle Law was
enacted amending Act No. 3045.The Automobile Division was renamed Division of Motor
Vehicles.The Chief of the Division was called the Superintendent of Division of Motor
Vehicles.Act No. 3992 was amended by Commonwealth Act Numbers 123, 548, 556, 652 and
Republic Act Numbers 314, 587, and 2383.

On June 2, 1945, Department Order No. 4 was issued by the Department of Public Works and
Highways reorganizing the Division.This took effect after the liberation of the Philippines from
the Japanese invasion.In 1947, Executive Order No. 94 was promulgated reorganizing the
different executive departments, bureaus and offices. Under Section 82 of this E.O., the Division
of Motor Vehicles was upgraded into the Motor Vehicles Office (MVO) with the category of a
Bureau.The Chief of the MVO enjoyed the rights and privileges of a Bureau Director.

During the fifties and early sixties, our country started undergoing rapid
economic development.Industrialization advanced and as a consequence, more and better
roads were constructed.The Filipino then realized the need for more and better means
of transportation. This need was second only to the need for drugs such as sovaldi. The growth in
the number of motor vehicles increased the demand for services that the MVO must render to the
public.This necessitated the issuance by the DPWH on June 5, 1961 of Administrative
Regulation No. 1 transferring the function of collecting the registration fees from city treasurers
to the various vehicle agencies of MVO.

On June 20, 1964, R.A. 4136, otherwise known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code
was enacted abolishing the Motor Vehicle Office and creating the Land Transportation
Commission.This law likewise partially repealed Act No. 3992. The Code provided that the Land
Transportation Commission shall control as far as they apply, the registration and operation of
motor vehicles and the licensing of owners, dealers, conductors, drivers and similar matters.To
effectively carry out its mandate, the Land Transportation Commission established regional
offices in various parts of the country.

130
On July 23, 1979, Executive Order Number 546 was promulgated creating the Ministry of
Transportation and Communications (MOTC).This marked reorganization.The Land
Transportation Commission was renamed Bureau of Land Transportation and was absorbed by
MOTC.

On June 2, 1980, Batas Pambansa Bilang 43 was passed providing for the issuance of permanent
number plates to owners of motor vehicles and trailers, amending for the purpose section 17 of
RA 4136.

On March 20, 1985, Executive Order 1011 was promulgated.This Executive Order abolished the
Board of Transportation and the Bureau of Land Transportation and established the Land
Transportation Commission.The defunct BLT and BOT were merged and their powers, functions
and responsibilities were transferred to the Land Transportation Commission (LTC) headed by a
Chairman, assisted by four Commissioners.The LTC was tasked to perform functions such as
registering motor vehicles, licensing of drivers and conductors, franchising of public utility
vehicles and enforcing traffic rules and regulations and adjudicating apprehensions. On January
30, 1987, the Land Transportation Commission was abolished and two offices were created,
namely:The Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board (LTFRB).The LTO took over the functions of the former BLT and the LTFRB
took over the functions of the former BOT. The MOTC was likewise renamed DOTC.

All these changes took effect with the promulgation of Executive Order No. 125 which was later
amended by Executive Orders No. 125-A dated April 13, 1987 and E.O. 226 dated July 25,
1987. Despite the changes in names of Office and all the reorganizations that took effect,
its basic functions on land transportation system remain the same.The promotion of safety and
comfort in land travel is its continuing commitment. When Executive Orders 125, 125-A and 226
were promulgated, LTO was composed of only thirteen (13) regions.As time went on, additional
regions were created, namely: CAR, CARAGA and MIMAROPA.While CAR and CARAGA are
attached to the DOTC, they report to LTO Central Office on matters of registration of motor
vehicles, issuance of driver's licenses and enforcement of land transportation laws, rules and
regulations.

The LTO is now composed of the following regions:

Region I - Aguila Road, Brgy. Sevilla, San Fernando City, La Union


Region II - San Gabriel, Tuguegarao, Cagayan
Region III - Brgy. Maimpis, City of San Fernando, Pampanga
Region IVA - Old City Hall Compound, Lipa City
Region IVB - MIMAROPA LTO Compd., East Avenue, QC.

131
Region V - Regional Govt. Center Site, Rawis, Legaspi City
Region VI - Tabuc-Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City
Region VII - Natalio Bacalso Avenue, Cebu City
Region VIII Old Army Road, Tacloban City
Region IX - Veterans Ave., Zamboanga City/Balangasan St., Pagadian
Region X - MVIS Compound, Zone 7, Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City
Region XI - Quimpo Blvd., Davao City
Region XII - ARMM Compound, Cotabato City/No. 79 G. Del Pilar St.,
Koronadal City, South Cotabato
National Capital Region (NCR) #20 G. Araneta Avenue, Brgy. Sto
Domingo, Q.C.
Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) - Engineers Hill, Baguio
City/2nd Flr., Post Office Loop, Session Road, Baguio City
CARAGA - Capitol Avenue, Butuan City
Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) DSWD Bldg.,
ARMM Complex, Cotabato city

The volume of transactions at LTO has grown so fast without increasing the manpower, hence to
meet the publics demand, LTO introduced the computerization of its transactions sometime in
1998.To date, almost all LTO Offices are computerized except those with manpower,
telecommunications and security issues.

MISSION

Rationalize the land transportation services and facilities and to effectively implement the
various transportation laws, rules and regulations. It is the responsibility of those involved in the
public service to be more vigilant in their part in the over-all development scheme of the national
leadership. Hence, promotion of safety and comfort in land travel is a continuing commitment of
the LTO.

VISION

A front line government agency showcasing fast and efficient public service for a progressive
land transport sector.

MANDATE AND FUNCTIONS

Inspection and Registration of Motor Vehicles


Issuance of License and Permits

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Enforcement of Land Transportation Rules and Regulations
Adjudication of Traffic Cases
Collection of Revenues for the Government

References:

http://www.lto.gov.ph/about-us/

http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1964/ra_4136_1964.html

133
REPUBLIC ACT No. 4136

AN ACT TO COMPILE THE LAWS RELATIVE TO LAND TRANSPORTATION AND


TRAFFIC RULES, TO CREATE A LAND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES

CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS ARTICLE

ARTICLE I
Title and Scope of Act

Section 1. Title of Act. - This Act shall be known as the "Land Transportation and Traffic Code."

Section 2. Scope of Act. - The provisions of this Act shall control, as far as they apply, the
registration and operation of motor vehicles and the licensing of owners, dealers, conductors,
drivers, and similar matters.

ARTICLE II
Definitions

Section 3. Words and phrases defined. - As used in this Act:

(a) "Motor Vehicle" shall mean any vehicle propelled by any power other than muscular
power using the public highways, but excepting road rollers, trolley cars, street-sweepers,
sprinklers, lawn mowers, bulldozers, graders, fork-lifts, amphibian trucks, and cranes if
not used on public highways, vehicles which run only on rails or tracks, and tractors,
trailers and 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" shall mean all pneumatic-tire vehicles of types similar to
those usually known under the following terms: touring car, command car, speedster,
sports car, roadster, jeep, cycle, car (except motor wheel and similar small outfits which
are classified with motorcycles), coupe, landaulet, closed car, limousine, cabriolet, and
sedan.

Motor vehicles with changed or rebuilt bodies, such as jeepneys, jitneys, or station
wagons, using a chassis of the usual pneumatic-tire passenger automobile type, shall also
be classified as passenger automobile, if their net allowable carrying capacity, as
determined by the Commissioner of Land Transportation, does not exceed nine
passengers and if they are not used primarily for carrying freight or merchandise.

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The distinction between "passenger truck" and "passenger automobile" shall be that of
common usage: Provided, That a motor vehicle registered for more than nine passengers
shall be classified as "truck": And Provided, further, That a "truck with seating
compartments at the back not used for hire shall be registered under special "S"
classifications. In case of dispute, the Commissioner of Land Transportation shall
determine the classification to which any special type of motor vehicle belongs.

(c) "Articulated vehicle" shall mean any motor vehicle with a trailer having no front axle
and so attached that part of the trailer rests upon motor vehicle and a substantial part of
the weight of the trailer and of its load is borne by the motor vehicle. Such a trailer shall
be called as "semi-trailer."

(d) "Driver" shall mean every and any licensed operator of a motor vehicle.

(e) "Professional driver" shall mean every and any driver hired or paid for driving or
operating a motor vehicle, whether for private use or for hire to the public.

Any person driving his own motor vehicle for hire is a professional driver.

(f) "Owner" shall mean the actual legal owner of a motor vehicle, in whose name such
vehicle is duly registered with the Land Transportation Commission.

The "owner" of a government-owned motor vehicle is the head of the office or the chief
of the Bureau to which the said motor vehicle belongs.

(g) "Dealer" shall mean every person, association, partnership, or corporation making,
manufacturing, constructing, assembling, remodeling, rebuilding, or setting up motor
vehicles; and every such entity acting as agent for the sale of one or more makes, styles,
or kinds of motor vehicles, dealing in motor vehicles, keeping the same in stock or selling
same or handling with a view to trading same.

(h) "Garage" shall mean any building in which two or more motor vehicles, either with or
without drivers, are kept ready for hire to the public, but shall not include street stands,
public service stations, or other public places designated by proper authority as parking
spaces for motor vehicles for hire while awaiting or soliciting business.

(i) "Gross weight" shall mean the measured weight of a motor vehicle plus the maximum
allowable carrying capacity in merchandise, freight and/or passenger, as determined by
the Commissioner of Land Transportation.

(j) "Highways" shall mean every public thoroughfare, public boulevard, driveway,
avenue, park, alley and callejon, but shall not include roadway upon grounds owned by
private persons, colleges, universities, or other similar institutions.

(k) "The Commissioner of Land Transportation or his deputies" shall mean the actual or
acting chief of the Land Transportation Commission or such representatives, deputies, or

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assistants as he may, with the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications, appoint or designate in writing for the purpose contemplated by this
Act.

(l) "Parking or parked", for the purposes of this Act, shall mean that a motor vehicle is
"parked" or "parking" if it has been brought to a stop on the shoulder or proper edge of a
highway, and remains inactive in that place or close thereto for an appreciable period of
time. A motor vehicle which properly stops merely to discharge a passenger or to take in
a waiting passenger, or to load or unload a small quantity of freight with reasonable
dispatch shall not be considered as "parked", if the motor vehicle again moves away
without delay.

(m) "Tourist" shall mean a foreigner who travels from place to place for pleasure or
culture.

ARTICLE III
Administration of Act

Section 4. Creation of the Commission. -

(a) There is created under the Department of Public Works and Communications an office
which shall be designated and known as the Land Transportation Commission, composed
of one Commissioner and one Deputy Commissioner, who shall be vested with the
powers and duties hereafter specified. Whenever the word "Commission" is used in this
Act, it shall be deemed to mean the Land Transportation Commission, and whenever the
word "Commissioner" is used in this Act, it shall be taken to mean the Commissioner or
Deputy Commissioner.

The Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner shall be natural-born citizens and
residents of the Philippines, and they shall be appointed by the President of the
Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the Congress of the
Philippines: Provided, however, That the present Administrator, Assistant Administrator
and the personnel of the Motor Vehicles Office shall continue in office without the
necessity of reappointment.

(b) The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner shall hold office until removed in
accordance with the provisions of the Revised Administrative Code.

(c) The Commissioner shall receive an annual compensation of twelve thousand pesos
and the Deputy Commissioner, an annual compensation of ten thousand four hundred
pesos. The Commissioner shall be assisted by one head executive assistant (MV
regulation adviser or chief), one administrative officer, one registration regulation chief,
one inspection, examination and licensing regulation chief, one law and traffic
enforcement regulation chief, one provincial regulation chief, one utility and property
regulation chief, one accounting officer, one internal chief auditor, and one personnel
officer, who shall receive an annual compensation of nine thousand pesos each; eight land

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transportation regional directors who shall receive an annual compensation of eight
thousand four hundred pesos each and eight land transportation assistant regional
directors, who shall receive an annual compensation of seven thousand pesos each and
ten assistant regulation chiefs, who shall receive an annual compensation of seven
thousand pesos each.

(d) The Commission shall have its offices in Quezon City where the present Motor
Vehicle Office is located, and shall establish a regional branch office each in Tuguegarao
(Cagayan), Baguio City, Pasig (Rizal), Lipa City, San Fernando (La Union), Naga City,
Cebu City, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Davao City, to be headed by a regional
director who will have immediate administration, supervision and control over activities
and administration of the Commission in the respective regions.

The Commissioner shall be responsible for the administration of this Act and shall have,
in connection therewith, the following powers and duties, in addition to those mentioned
elsewhere in this Act:

(1) With the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, to
issue rules and regulations not in conflict with the provisions of this Act,
prescribing the procedure for the examination, licensing and bonding of drivers;
the registration and re-registration of motor vehicles, transfer of ownership,
change of status; the replacement of lost certificates, licenses, badges, permits or
number plates; and to prescribe the minimum standards and specifications
including allowable gross weight, allowable length, width and height or motor
vehicles, distribution of loads, allowable loads on tires, change of tire sizes, body
design or carrying capacity subsequent to registration and all other special cases
which may arise for which no specific provision is otherwise made in this Act.

(2) To compile and arrange all applications, certificates, permits, licenses, and to
enter, note and record thereon transfers, notifications, suspensions, revocations, or
judgments of conviction rendered by competent courts concerning violations of
this Act, with the end in view of preserving and making easily available such
documents and records to public officers and private persons properly and
legitimately interested therein.

(3) To give public notice of the certificates, permits, licenses and badges issued,
suspended or revoked and/or motor vehicles transferred and/or drivers bonded
under the provisions of this Act.

(4) The Commissioner of Land Transportation, with the approval of the Secretary
of Public Works and Communications, may designate as his deputy and agent any
employee of the Land Transportation Commission, or such other government
employees as he may deem expedient to assist in the carrying out the provisions
of this Act.

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(5) The Commissioner of Land Transportation and his deputies are hereby
authorized to make arrest for violations of the provisions of this Act in so far as
motor vehicles are concerned; to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to
compel the appearance of motor vehicle operators and divers and/or other persons
or conductors; and to use all reasonable means within their powers to secure
enforcement of the provisions of this Act.

(6) The Commissioner of Land Transportation or his deputies may at any time
examine and inspect any motor vehicle to determine whether such motor vehicle
is registered, or is unsightly, unsafe, overloaded, improperly marked or equipped,
or otherwise unfit to be operated because of possible excessive damage to
highways, bridges and/or culverts.

(7) The Philippine Constabulary and the city and municipal police forces are
hereby given the authority and the primary responsibility and duty to prevent
violations of this Act, and to carry out the police provisions hereof within their
respective jurisdiction: Provided, That all apprehensions made shall be submitted
for final disposition to the Commissioner and his deputies within twenty-four
hours from the date of apprehension.

(8) All cases involving violations of this Act shall be endorsed immediately by the
apprehending officer to the Land Transportation Commission. Where such
violations necessitate immediate action, the same shall be endorsed to the traffic
court, city or municipal court for summary investigation, hearing and disposition,
but in all such cases, appropriate notices of the apprehensions and the dispositions
thereof shall be given to the Commissioner of Land Transportation by the law-
enforcement agency and the court concerned.

Notation of all such dispositions shall be entered in the records, and copy shall be
mailed to the owner and to the driver concerned.

CHAPTER II
REGISTRATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES

ARTICLE I
Duty to Register, Reports, Applications, Classifications

Section 5. All motor vehicles and other vehicles must be registered.

(a) No motor vehicle shall be used or operated on or upon any public highway of the
Philippines unless the same is properly registered for the current year in accordance with
the provisions of this Act.

(b) Any registration of motor vehicles not renewed on or before the date fixed for
different classifications, as provided hereunder shall become delinquent and invalid:

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1. For hire motor vehicles - on or before the last working day of February.

2. Privately-owned motor vehicles - from March one to the last working day of
May.

3. All other motor vehicles - from June one to the last working day of June; except
when the plates of such motor vehicles are returned to the Commission in Quezon
City or to the Office of the Motor Vehicles Registrar in the provincial or city
agency of the Commission on or before the last working day of December of the
year of issue.

(c) Dealer's reports - The Commissioner of Land Transportation shall require dealers to
furnish him with such information and reports concerning the sale, importation,
manufacture, number of stocks, transfer or other transactions affecting motor vehicles as
may be necessary for the effective enforcement of the provisions of this Act.

(d) Change of motor number prohibited. - No repair or change in the motor vehicle
involving the exchange, elimination, effacing, or replacing of the original or registered
serial or motor number as stamped or imprinted, shall be allowed, and any motor vehicle
with a trace of having its motor number altered or tampered with shall be refused
registration or re-registration, unless such is satisfactorily explained and approved by the
Commissioner.

(e) Encumbrances of motor vehicles. - Mortgages, attachments, and other encumbrances


of motor vehicles, in order to be valid, must be recorded in the Land Transportation
Commission and must be properly recorded on the face of all outstanding copies of the
certificates of registration of the vehicle concerned.

Cancellation or foreclosure of such mortgages, attachments, and other encumbrances


shall likewise be recorded, and in the absence of such cancellation, no certificate of
registration shall be issued without the corresponding notation of mortgage, attachment
and/or other encumbrances.

Records of encumbrances of motor vehicles shall be kept by the Land Transportation


Commission in chronological sequence and shall contain, among other things, the time,
date and number of the entry in a "Book of Motor Vehicles" referring to the creation,
cancellation or foreclosure of the aforesaid mortgages, attachments or to other
encumbrances.

The Land Transportation Commission shall collect a fee of five pesos for every
annotation of a mortgage, attachment and/or other encumbrances, or cancellation thereof.

Section 6. Application and payments for registration. - Applications and payments for
registration shall be made either personally or by registered mail, and the date of the cancellation
of the postage stamps of envelopes containing money order or check shall be taken as the date of

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the application and/or payment for registration: Provided, That the application is properly
prepared and the payment for registration is sufficient as required by law.

Section 7. Registration Classification. - Every motor vehicle shall be registered under one of the
following described classifications:

(a) private passenger automobiles; (b) private trucks; and (c) private motorcycles,
scooters, or motor wheel attachments. Motor vehicles registered under these
classifications shall not be used for hire under any circumstances and shall not be used to
solicit, accept, or be used to transport passengers or freight for pay.

Laborers necessary to handle freight on board private trucks may ride on such trucks:
Provided, That seats shall not be installed in the rear compartment thereof and that only
such number of laborers, not exceeding ten, as may be needed to handle the kind of
freight carried, shall ride on the truck: Provided, further, That the combined weight of
cargo and passengers does not exceed the registered net capacity of the truck.

For the purpose of this section, a vehicle habitually used to carry freight not belonging to
the registered owner thereof, or passengers not related by consanguinity or affinity within
the fourth civil degree to such owner, shall be conclusively presumed to be "for hire."

No person shall be allowed to register as private truck any truck not actually and
reasonably necessary to carry out his duly licensed business or legitimate occupation or
industry regularly paying taxes.

(d) Public utility automobiles; e) public utility trucks; (f) taxis and auto-calesas; (g)
garage automobiles; (h) garage trucks; (i) hire trucks: and (j) trucks owned by contractors
and customs brokers and customs agents. Application for registration under these
classifications shall be accompanied by a certificate of public convenience or a special
permit issued by the Public Service Commission, and motor vehicles registered under
these classifications shall be subject to the Public Service Law, rules and regulations, as
well as the provisions of this Act.

(k) Undertakes

(l) Dealers - Registrations under this classification are intended to cover generally and
successively all the motor vehicles imported or handled by dealers for sale. Motor
vehicles registered under the dealer's classification shall, under no circumstances, be
employed to carry passengers or freight in the dealer's business, or for hire. Such vehicles
shall be operated under this classification only for the purpose of transporting the vehicle
itself from the pier or factory to the warehouse or sales room or for delivery to a
prospective purchaser or for test or demonstration.

(m) Government automobiles; (n) government trucks; and (o) government motorcycles.
Motor vehicles owned by the Government of the Philippines or any of its political
subdivisions shall be registered under these classifications. Motor vehicles owned by

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government corporations, by government employees or by foreign governments shall not
be registered under this classification.

(p) Tourists bringing their own motor vehicles to the Philippines may, without registering
such motor vehicles, use the same during but not after ninety days of their sojourn:
Provided, That the motor vehicle displays the number plates for the current year of some
other country or state, and said number plates as well as the name and address (permanent
and temporary) of the owner thereof are registered in the Land Transportation
Commission prior to the operation of the motor vehicle.

If such tourist remain in the Philippines longer than ninety days, the motor vehicle shall
not be operated unless registered in accordance with this Act and the corresponding
registration fees paid.

(q) Special. The Commissioner of Land Transportation may, in his discretion, allow the
registration under this classification of motor vehicles which do not conform to the
foregoing described regular classification.

ARTICLE II
Registration Fees

Section 8. Schedule of registration fees. - Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act,
each application for renewal of registration of motor vehicles shall be accompanied by an annual
registration fee in accordance with the following schedule:

(a) Private automobiles with pneumatic rubber tires, an amount based on their respective
shipping weight or factory weight as indicated in the following schedule:

1,000 kilos or less P75.00

1,000 to 1,500 kilos 100.00

1,501 to 2,000 kilos 135.00

2,001 kilos and above 180.00

The factory or shipping weight of a private automobile shall be obtained from the Red
Book edited by the National Market Report, Inc., of the United States of America:
Provided, further, That in the case of automobiles with altered, changed or rebuilt bodies,
the weight as obtained: by actual weighing shall be considered the vehicles weight:
Provided, furthermore, That the increase registration fees herein prescribed shall not
apply to jeeps and jeepneys for private use or for hire and the fees hereof shall be those
prescribed for them before the approval of this Act.

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

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1. For each adult passenger, a horizontal rectangular area, including seat and feet
space, not less than thirty-five centimeters wide and sixty centimeters long, except
in the front seat, which shall allow an area fifty centimeters wide for the operator.

2. For each half passenger, a horizontal rectangular area, including seat and feet
spaces, not less that seventeen and a half centimeters wide by sixty centimeters
long, provided, that each continuous row of seats shall not be allowed to have
more that one-half passenger.

(b) Private motor trucks, passenger buses and trailers with pneumatic rubber tires, the
sum of five pesos for every hundred kilograms of maximum allowable gross weight or
fraction thereof.

(c) 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 for every hundred
kilograms of maximum allowable gross weight or fraction thereof.

(d) Private motorcycles and scooters of two or three wheels and bicycles with motor
attachments, the sum of thirty pesos.

(e) The fee for registration of motor vehicles for hire shall be sixty percent more than the
fee prescribed for private motor vehicles of the same category.

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

(g) No regular registration fees shall be charged for the general registration of motor
vehicles contemplated under the dealer's classification: Provided, That the Commissioner
of Land Transportation shall provide appropriate dealer's number plates corresponding to
the classification of vehicles hereinbelow described, and registration fee for every set of
such dealer's number plates shall be in accordance with the following schedule of rates;

Two hundred pesos for each truck or trailer;

One hundred pesos for each passenger automobile; and

Twenty pesos for each motorcycle and the like.

(h) Registration under the "Government Motor Vehicle" classification shall be free of
charge, upon request of the chief of bureau or office concerned.

(i) Motor vehicles not intended to be operated or used upon any public highway, or which
are operated on highways not constructed or maintained by the Government, or are
intended not to be used or operated at all, shall be exempt from payment of the

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registration fees provided in this Act, but shall each pay an annual recording and service
fee of fifteen pesos: Provided, however, That no refund, credit for, or reimbursement of
registration fees or part thereof shall be made to any owner on account of the
discontinuance of the use or operation of a motor vehicle subsequent to the payment of
such registration fees: Provided, further, That in the event motor vehicles exempted under
this section shall be found operated on any public highways, the regular registration fees
and surcharges shall be collected in addition to whatever penalties may be imposed for
violation of this Act. The Commissioner of Land Transportation shall provide distinctive
number plates for vehicles exempted from payment of regular registration fees, and the
owner of the vehicles concerned shall pay four pesos for each set of such number plates.

(j) The maximum allowable gross weight of a motor truck, passenger bus, or trailer, upon
which to compute the registration fee thereof, shall be determined by the Commissioner
of Land Transportation. He shall, from time to time as the need of the service may
require, prepare, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications, suitable tables of maximum allowable loads per wheel for different
sizes kinds of tires.

(k) The registration fees provided in this Act for trucks may be payable in two equal
installment, the first to be paid on or before the last working day of February if for hire,
and in March if private; and the second to be paid on or before the last working day of
August: Provided, That the fifty per cent penalty shall apply only to the unpaid balance of
the remaining period of delinquency.

Section 9. Permissible weights and dimensions of vehicles in highways 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 Commissioner with the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications, may promulgate, from time to time, as the conditions of the public
highways may warrant and the needs of the service may require.

Permissible maximum weights:

1. Per most heavily three thousand six hundred


loaded wheel kilograms;
2. Per most heavily eight thousand kilograms;
loaded axle
3. Per most heavily fourteen thousand five
loaded axle group hundred kilograms.
(the two axles of the
group being at least
one meter and less
than two meters

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

No provincial, city or municipal authority shall enact or enforce any ordinance or


resolution regulating or prescribing the maximum gross weight of any motor vehicle.

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

Overall width two and five-tenths meters

Overall height four meters

Overall length:

Freight vehicles with two axles ten meters

Passenger vehicles with two axles eleven meters

Vehicles with three or more axles fourteen 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) No articulated vehicles shall be allowed to draw or pull a trailer and no vehicle
already drawing a trailer shall draw another.

Section 10. Special permits, fees for. - The Commissioner with the approval of the Secretary of
Public Works and Communications, shall issue regulations and schedules of additional fees
under which special permits may be issued in the discretion of the Commissioner or his deputies
for each of the following special cases, without which special permit no vehicles shall be
operated on the public highways:

(a) To operate a motor vehicle or trailer outfit with wheel, axle, or axle group loads in
excess of the limits fixed in subsection (a) of Section nine hereof or in any regulation
issued by the Commissioner.

(b) To operate a motor vehicle the size of which exceeds the limit of permissible
dimensions specified in paragraph (b) of Section nine hereof.

(c) To operate a motor vehicle with any part of the load extending beyond the projected
width of the vehicle.

(d) To pull two trailers behind a motor vehicle.

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(e) For any other special authority relating to the use of vehicles, not otherwise
specifically provided herein.

Section 11. Additional fees. - In addition to the fees elsewhere provided in this Act, for each
change of registration, from private to for hire or vice-versa; revision of gross weight rating,
change of tire size; transfer of ownership; replacement of a lost registration certificate, number
plate, driver's license or permit; badge; preparation of affidavit or certified copy of records, or for
any similar circumstances requiring the issue, revision, or reissue of a certificate of registration,
driver's license, badge, permit, or other document, a fee of two pesos shall be collected.

The replacement of a lost or utterly spoiled certificate, number plate, license, badge or permit
shall render the original invalid.

In case of request in writing for certification of data or facts involving two or more vehicles, a
fee of five pesos a page or part thereof shall be collected for each certification.

Section 12. Fee for original registration for part of year. - If any application for the original
registration is made during the first quarter of a calendar year, the total annual fee for the year
shall be paid, if made during the second quarter, three-fourths of the annual fee for that year shall
be paid, if made during the third quarter, one half of the annual fee shall be paid, and if made
during the fourth quarter, one-fourth of the annual fee shall be paid.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as allowing quarterly renewals of registrations in order
to avoid payment of fees in advance for the entire year.

Section 13. Payment of taxes upon registration. - No original registration of motor vehicles
subject to payment of taxes, customs duties or other charges shall be accepted unless proof of
payment of the taxes due thereon has been presented to the Commission.

ARTICLE III
Registration Certificates, Records, Number Plates

Section 14. Issuance of certificates of registration. - A properly numbered certificate of


registration shall be issued for each separate motor vehicle after due inspection and payment of
corresponding registration fees.

Section 15. 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 presented with
subsequent applications for re-registration, transfer of ownership, or recording of
encumbrances: Provided, That in lieu of the certificate of registration a true copy or
photostat thereof may be carried in the motor vehicle.

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(b) The certificate of registration issued under the provisions of this Act for any motor
vehicle shall, while the same is valid and effective and has not been suspended or
revoked, be the authority for the operation of such motor vehicle.

(c) No motor vehicle shall be operated on the public highways in a manner which would
place it under a classification requiring the payment of a larger registration fee than that
stated in the certificate of registration.

Section 16. Suspension of registration certificate. - If on inspection, as provided in paragraph (6)


of Section four hereof, any motor vehicle is found to be unsightly, unsafe, overloaded,
improperly marked or equipped, or otherwise unfit to be operated, or capable of causing
excessive damage to the highways, or not conforming to minimum standards and specifications,
the Commissioner may refuse to register the said motor vehicle, or if already registered, may
require the number plates thereof to be surrendered to him, and upon seventy-two hours notice to
the owner of the motor vehicle, suspend such registration until the defects of the vehicle are
corrected and/or the minimum standards and specifications fully complied with.

Whenever it shall appear from the records of the Commission that during any twelve-month
period more than three warnings for violations of this Act have been given to the owner of a
motor vehicle, or that the said owner has been convicted by a competent court more than once
for violation of such laws, the Commissioner may, in his discretion, suspend the certificate of
registration for a period not exceeding ninety days and, thereupon, shall require the immediate
surrender of the number plates.

Whenever a motor vehicle is found to be underweight the owner thereof shall pay the difference
in the registration fees corresponding to the shortage in weight plus a fifty per cent surcharge,
and until such payment is made, the certificate of registration of the motor vehicle concerned
shall be suspended by the Commissioner.

After two such suspension, re-registration of the vehicle concerned for one year may be denied.

The Commissioner shall notify the owner of the motor vehicle of any action taken by him under
this section.

Section 17. Number plates, preparation, preparation and issuance of . -

(a) The Commissioner shall cause number plates to be prepared and issued to owners of
motor vehicles and trailers registered under this Act, charging a fee of four pesos for each
pair including the numerals indicating the year of registry: Provided, however, That in
case no number plates are available, the Commissioner or his deputies may issue, without
charge, a written permit temporarily authorizing the operation of any motor vehicles with
other means of identification: Provided, further, That all motor vehicles exempted from
payment of registration fees, motor vehicles for hire, and privately-owned motor vehicles
shall bear plates so designed and painted with different colors to distinguish one class
from another: Provided, furthermore, That the plates of motor vehicles exempted from
payment of registration fees shall be permanently assigned to such motor vehicles during

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their entire lifetime while exempted from payment of the fees: And, provided, finally,
That the owner thereof shall return such plates to the Land Transportation Commission
within a period of seven working days after such owner has lost his exemption privilege
or has transferred the vehicle to a non-exempt owner.

(b) In case the design of the number plate is such that the numerals indicating the year of
registry are on a detachable tag, the Commissioner or his deputies may, in their
discretion, issue the said tag only for subsequent re-registration charging a fee of one
peso for each tag issued.

Section 18. Use of number plates. - At all times, every motor vehicle shall display in
conspicuous places, one in front and one in the rear thereof, the said number plates.

The number plates shall be kept clean and cared for, and shall be firmly affixed to the motor
vehicle in such a manner as will make it entirely visible and always legible.

Except in the case of dealer's number plates which may be used successively on various motor
vehicles in stock, no person shall transfer number plates from motor vehicle to another.

No dealer's number plate shall be used on any motor vehicle after said vehicle has been sold and
delivered to a purchaser, and no dealer shall allow such dealer's number plates to be used on any
motor vehicle after its sale and delivery to a purchaser.

CHAPTER III
OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE

ARTICLE I
License to Drive Motor Vehicles

Section 19. Duty to procure license. - Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, no
person shall operate any motor vehicle without first procuring a license to drive a motor vehicle
for the current year, nor while such license is delinquent, invalid, suspended or revoked.

The license shall be carried by the driver at all times when operating a motor vehicle, and shall
be shown and/or surrendered for cause and upon demand to any person with authority under this
Act to confiscate the same.

Section 20. License for enlisted men operating Government motor vehicles. - Enlisted men
operating a motor vehicle owned by the Government of the Philippines shall be licensed in
accordance with the provisions of this Act, but no license or delinquency fees shall be collected
therefrom. All licenses so issued shall bear the words "For Government Vehicles Only" plainly
marked or stamped in red ink across the face thereof.

A license so marked or stamped shall authorize the holder thereof to operate a private-owned
motor vehicle.

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Section 21. Operation of motor vehicles by tourists. - Bona fide tourist and similar transients
who are duly licensed to operate motor vehicles in their respective countries may be allowed to
operate motor vehicles during but not after ninety days of their sojourn in the Philippines.

If any accident involving such tourist or transient occurs, which upon investigation by the
Commissioner or his deputies indicates that the said tourist or transient is incompetent to operate
motor vehicles, the Commissioner shall immediately inform the said tourist or transient in
writing that he shall no longer be permitted to operate a motor vehicle.

After ninety days, any tourist or transient desiring to operate motor vehicles shall pay fees and
obtain and carry a license as hereinafter provided.

Section 22. Driver's license, fees, examination. - Every person who desires personally to operate
any motor vehicle shall file an application to the Commissioner or his deputies for a license to
drive motor vehicles: Provided, however, That no person shall be issued a professional driver'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 five pesos, and shall contain such information respecting the
applicant and his ability to operate motor vehicles, as may be required by the Commission.

The Commissioner 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 or demonstration to show any applicant's ability to operate motor vehicles may
also be required in the discretion of the Commissioner or his deputies.

Section 23. Issuance of driver's license. - If, after such examination, the Commissioner or his
deputy believes that the applicant possesses the necessary qualifications and is proficient in the
operation of motor vehicles, a license shall be issued to such applicant upon payment of five
pesos, but prior to the issuance of said license, the applicant shall furnish three copies of his
recent photograph to be securely attached to the license, and two copies to be filed and kept as
provided by this Act. All driver's licenses shall bear the signature and right-hand thumb print of
the licensee.

Section 24. Use of driver's license and badge. - Every license issued under the provisions of this
Act to any driver shall entitle the holder thereof, while the same is valid and effective and not
suspended or revoked, to operate the motor vehicles described in such license: Provided,
however, That every licensed professional driver, before operating a public service motor vehicle
registered under classifications (d) to (j) inclusive of Section seven hereof, shall secure from the
Commissioner, upon payment of the sum of one peso, a driver's badge which he shall, at all
times while so operating a motor vehicle, display in plain sight on the band of his cap or on his
coat or shirt. Such driver's badge shall be of metal with a plainly readable number assigned to the
licensee stamped thereon.

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It shall be unlawful for any duly licensed driver to transfer, lend or otherwise allow any person to
use his license for the purpose of enabling such person to operate a motor vehicle.

No owner of a motor vehicle shall engage, employ, or hire any person to operate such motor
vehicle, unless the person sought to be employed is a duly licensed professional driver.

Section 25. Driver's records. - Any driver who changes his address shall, within fifteen days,
notify the Commissioner in writing of his new address, name and address of his new employer,
the number of the motor vehicle he is employed to operate, and such other information as the
Commissioner may require.

Section 26. Renewal of license. - Any license not renewed on or before the last working day of
the month when the applicant was born shall become delinquent and invalid, except when the
license is surrendered to the Commissioner or his deputies before the last working day of the
month of his birth in order to avoid payment of the delinquency fees.

The fee for renewal of delinquent license shall be five pesos in addition to the basic fee as
hereinabove prescribed.

Every applicant for renewal of license to operate any motor vehicle shall present to the
Commissioner, in person or by mail or messenger, 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 applicant 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 in accord with Section eleven of this Act, on penalty of refusal,
by the Commissioner or his deputies, to renew the license: Provided, however, That the
Commissioner or his deputies may, in their discretion accept in lieu of the previous years 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 to which no license was issued in his
name.

The Commissioner and his deputies are hereby authorized to administer the oath in connection
with such affidavit.

Section 27. Suspension, revocation of driver's license.

(a) The Commissioner may suspend for a period not exceeding three months or, after
hearing, revoke any driver's license issued under the provisions of this Act, and may
order any such license to be delivered to him whenever he has reason to believe that the
holder thereof is an improper person to operate motor vehicles, or in operating or using a
motor vehicle in, or as an accessory to, the commission of any crime or act which
endangers the public. Any deputy of the Commissioner may, for the same cause, suspend
for a period not exceeding three months any driver's license issued under the provisions
of this Act: Provided, That such suspension may be appealed to the Commissioner who

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may, after reviewing the case, confirm, reverse or modify the action taken by such
deputy.

(b) Whenever during any twelve-month period a driver shall have been convicted at least
three times for the violations of any provisions of this Act or of any regulation issued by
the Commissioner or any municipal or city ordinance relating to motor vehicle traffic not
in conflict with any of the provisions of this Act, the Commissioner may, in his
discretion, revoke or suspend the license of such driver for a period not exceeding two
years.

(c) The license suspended or revoked under the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of
this section shall not be reinstated unless the driver has furnished a bond in accordance
with Section twenty-nine of this Act and only after the Commissioner has satisfied
himself that such driver may again safely be permitted to operate a motor vehicle.

(d) A decision of the Commissioner revoking or refusing the reinstatement of a license


under the provisions of this Section may be appealed to the Secretary of Public Works
and Communications.

Section 28. Driver's bond. - The Commissioner before reinstating any driver's license which has
been suspended or revoked under the provisions of the preceding section or of any provisions of
this Act, may require such driver to post a bond in the sum of one thousand pesos conditioned
upon the satisfaction and payment of any claim which may be filed or of any execution which
may be issued against such driver in any case wherein said driver may be held answerable while
operating motor vehicles. The bond required in this section shall be in such form as to render
sureties liable at least for a period of not less than one year nor more than three years: Provided,
however, That upon written application to the Commissioner for release from such a bond, the
Commissioner may after revoking or suspending the driver's license, authorize the release of the
bondsmen from further responsibility thereunder: Provided, further, That should the
Commissioner decide not to revoke the license of a driver who has been convicted of homicide
through reckless imprudence, or of the violation of the speed limit or of reckless driving at least
three times within a twelve-month period, the said driver shall post a bond in the sum of not less
than two thousand pesos, conditioned upon the payment of any claim which may be filed or any
execution which may be issued against him in any case wherein said driver may be held
answerable while operating motor vehicles.

Section 29. Confiscation of driver's licenses. - Law enforcement and peace officers duly
designated by the Commissioner shall, in apprehending any driver for violations of this Act or of
any regulations issued pursuant thereto, or of local traffic rules and regulations, confiscate the
license of the driver concerned and issue a receipt prescribed and issued by the Commission
therefor which shall authorize the driver to operate a motor vehicle for a period not exceeding
seventy-two hours from the time and date of issue of said receipt. The period so fixed in the
receipt shall not be extended, and shall become invalid thereafter. Failure of the driver to settle
his case within fifteen days from the date of apprehension will cause suspension and revocation
of his license.

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Section 30. Student-driver's permit. - Upon proper application and the payment of three pesos,
the Commissioner or his deputy may issue student-driver's permits, valid for six months to
persons not under eighteen years of age, who desire to learn to operate motor vehicles. No
application for driver's license shall be received unless the applicant has undergone instruction in
the operation of motor vehicles for at least a month and has a valid student-driver's permit:
Provided, however, That any person who has a license to operate vehicles in other countries may,
upon presentation of appropriate evidence of such license, be allowed to pay for a driver's license
without presenting a student driver's permit.

A student driver who fails in the examination shall continue as a student driver for at least one
additional month. No student driver shall operate a motor vehicle unless accompanied by a duly
licensed driver.

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

ARTICLE II
Illegal Use of Licenses, Number Plates, Etc.

Section 31. Imitation and false representations. - No person shall make or use attempt to make
or use a driver'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
driver'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 driver's license.

ARTICLE III
Passenger and Freight

Section 32. Exceeding registered capacity. - No person operating any vehicle shall allow more
passenger or more freight or cargo in his vehicle than its registered carrying capacity. In the case
of public utility trucks or buses, the conductor shall be exclusively liable for violations of this
section or of Section thirty-two, letter (c) hereof: Provided, That the conductor, before being
employed by any public service operator, shall get a permit or license from the Commission and
pay five pesos annually for said license or permit issued in his favor, and the same is renewable
on or before the last working day of the month of his birth, attaching a readily recognizable
photograph and after presentation of a medical certificate of fitness of applicant.

Passenger trucks may be allowed to construct any cargo carrying device at the rear or at
the side of the truck, subject to the approval of the Commissioner: Provided, however,

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That the total weight of the device, including the cargo, shall not exceed one hundred
kilos.

(b) Carrying of passengers and freight on top of vehicles. - No person operating a motor
vehicle shall allow any passenger to ride on the cover or top of such vehicles: Provided,
however, That subject to such conditions as may be contained in permits that may be
issued by the Commissioner, baggage or freight may be carried on the top of a truck
provided the weight thereof does not exceed twenty kilos per square meter and is
distributed in such a manner as not to endanger the passengers or stability of the truck.

(c) Riding on running boards. - No driver shall permit any person to ride on the running
board, step board, or mudguard of his motor vehicle for any purpose except to make
repair or adjustment in the motor or to collect fares.

Section 33. Passenger or freight capacity marked on vehicle. - All passengers automobiles for
hire shall have the registered passenger capacity plainly and conspicuously marked on both sides
thereof, in letters and numerals not less than five centimeters in height.

All motor trucks, whether for passenger or freight, private, or for hire, shall have the registered
passenger gross and net weight capacities plainly and conspicuously marked on both sides
thereof, in letters and numerals not less than five centimeters in height.

ARTICLE IV
Accessories of Motor Vehicles

Section 34.

(a) Tires of motor vehicles. - No motor vehicle with metallic tires shall be operated upon
any public highway, and solid tires whenever used shall be of sufficient thickness to
prevent the metal rims thereof from coming in direct contact with the road.

(b) Brakes - Every motor vehicle with four or more wheels shall be provided with dual
hydraulic brake system so that in case of hydraulic line failure affecting the braking
efficiency of any of the four wheels at least either the front or rear wheels shall retain
normal braking capabilities. In the absence of such dual braking system every motor
vehicle with four or more wheels shall be provided with safety valve devices of such
design and make so that failure of the hydraulic braking system of the vehicle because of
leakage in the line of other parts of the system will not affect all wheels but rather render
at all times effective the braking power of either the two front wheels or the two rear
wheels when brakes are applied. This requirement, however, does not apply to motor
vehicles equipped with pneumatic braking system.

(b-1) Horns. - Every motor vehicle shall be provided with a horn or signalling devise in
good working order: Provided, however, That no horn or signalling device emitting an
exceptionally loud, startling, or disagreeable sound shall be installed or used on any
motor vehicle.

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All authorized emergency vehicles, such as ambulance and police cars and fire wagons
used for emergency calls shall be equipped with a bell, siren, or exhaust whistle of a type
approved by the Commissioner, and no such device shall be installed or used in any other
vehicle.

No vehicle not classified as a motor vehicle under this Act shall be equipped with a horn
or signaling device similar to the horn customarily used on motor vehicles.

(c) Headlights. - Every motor vehicle of more than one meter of projected width, while in
use on any public highway shall bear two headlights, one on each side, with white or
yellowish light visible from the front, which, not later than one-half hour after sunset and
until at least one-half four before sunrise and whenever weather conditions so require,
shall both be lighted.

Additional lamps and light may be carried, but no red lights shall be visible forward or
ahead of the vehicle. Trucks, buses, trailers, and other similar vehicles must carry, while
in use on any public highway during night-time, colored riding lights on each of the four
corners not more than ten centimeters from the top.

All motor vehicles shall be equipped with devices for varying the intensity of light, and
the driver must dim the headlights or tilt the beams downward whenever the vehicle is
being operated on well-lighted streets within the limits of cities, municipalities, and
thickly populated barrios or districts, or whenever such vehicle meets another vehicle on
any public highway.

(d) Taillights. - Every motor vehicle and trailer shall, during the above-mentioned hours,
also bear on each side in the rear a lamp showing a red light visible at least one hundred
meters from the rear of the vehicle and a lamp throwing a white light upon the number
plate issued for such vehicle.

(e) Stop lights. - Every motor vehicle shall be equipped at the rear with at least one lamp
which shall throw a sustained bright red light visible under all conditions, even under
bright sunlight, when the brakes are applied. Each bus, truck, trailer or similar vehicle
shall be equipped, as its stop light at or near its rear center, with a lamp at least twelve
centimeters in diameter with the word "stop" inscribed in the center.

(f) Motorcycle and other vehicle lights. - Every motor vehicle of less than one meter of
projected width shall be subject to the preceding provisions of this section, except that
one headlight and one taillight shall be required. No signal light shall be necessary.

Additional lamps may be carried provided they comply with the preceding provisions of
this section.

Every motor vehicle, or whatever style, kind, make, character, or nature, when upon a
highway during the hours above-mentioned, whether in motion or not, shall have one or

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more lights so arranged that the same shall be visible at least fifty meters from the front
and the rear of such vehicle.

(g) Lights when parked or disabled. - Appropriate parking lights or flares visible one
hundred meters away shall be displayed at a corner of the vehicle whenever such vehicle
is parked on highways or in places that are not well-lighted or is placed in such manner as
to endanger passing traffic.

(h) Windshield wiper. - Every motor vehicle shall be equipped with a mechanically or
electrically operated device for wiping off raindrops or other moisture from its front
windshield.

(i) Use of red flag. - Whenever the load of any vehicle extends more than one meter
beyond the bed or body thereof, there shall be displayed at every projecting end of such
load a red flag not less than thirty centimeters both in length and width, except that
during the hours fixed under subsection (c), there shall be displayed, in lieu of the
required red flags, red lights visible at least fifty meters away.

(j) Mufflers. - Every motor vehicle propelled by an internal combustion engine shall be
equipped with a muffler, and whenever said motor vehicle passes through a street of any
city, municipality, or thickly populated district or barrio, the muffler shall not be cut out
or disconnected. No motor vehicle shall be operated in such a manner as to cause it to
emit or make any unnecessary or disagreeable odor, smoke or noise.

CHAPTER IV
TRAFFIC RULES

ARTICLE I
Speed Limit and Keeping to the Right

Section 35. Restriction as to speed. -

(a) Any person driving a motor vehicle on a highway shall drive the same at a careful and
prudent speed, not greater nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard for
the traffic, the width of the highway, and of any other condition then and there existing;
and no person shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway at such a speed as to
endanger the life, limb and property of any person, nor at a speed greater than will permit
him to bring the vehicle to a stop within the assured clear distance ahead.

(b) Subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the rate of speed of any motor
vehicle shall not exceed the following:

Passengers
Motor trucks
MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE SPEEDS Cars and
and buses
Motorcycle

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1. On open country roads, with no "blinds corners" 80 km. per hour 50 km. per hour
not closely bordered by habitations.
2. On "through streets" or boulevards, clear of 40 km. per hour 30 km. per hour
traffic, with no " blind corners," when so
designated.
3. On city and municipal streets, with light traffic, 30 km. per hour 30 km. per hour
when not designated "through streets".
4. Through crowded streets, approaching 20 km. per hour 20 km. per hour
intersections at "blind corners," passing school
zones, passing other vehicles which are stationery,
or for similar dangerous circumstances.

(c) The rates of speed hereinabove prescribed shall not apply to the following:

(1) A physician or his driver when the former responds to emergency calls;

(2) The driver of a hospital ambulance on the way to and from the place of
accident or other emergency;

(3) Any driver bringing a wounded or sick person for emergency treatment to a
hospital, clinic, or any other similar place;

(4) The driver of a motor vehicle belonging to the Armed Forces while in use for
official purposes in times of riot, insurrection or invasion;

(5) The driver of a vehicle, when he or his passengers are in pursuit of a criminal;

(6) A law-enforcement officer who is trying to overtake a violator of traffic laws;


and

(7) The driver officially operating a motor vehicle of any fire department,
provided that exemption shall not be construed to allow unless or unnecessary fast
driving of drivers aforementioned.

Section 36. Speed limits uniform throughout the Philippines. - No provincial, city or municipal
authority shall enact or enforce any ordinance or resolution specifying maximum allowable
speeds other than those provided in this Act.

Section 37. Driving on right side of highway. - Unless a different course of action is required in
the interest of the safety and the security of life, person or property, or because of unreasonable
difficulty of operation in compliance herewith, every person operating a motor vehicle or an
animal-drawn vehicle on a highway shall pass to the right when meeting persons or vehicles
coming toward him, and to the left when overtaking persons or vehicles going the same

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direction, and when turning to the left in going from one highway to another, every vehicle shall
be conducted to the right of the center of the intersection of the highway.

Section 38. Classification of highways. - Public highways shall be properly classified for traffic
purposes by the provincial board, municipal board or city council having jurisdiction over them,
and said provincial board, municipal board or city council shall provide appropriate signs
therefor, subject to the approval of the Commissioner. It shall be the duty of every provincial,
city and municipal secretary to certify to the Commissioner the names, locations, and limits of all
"through streets" designated as such by the provincial board, municipal board or council.

ARTICLE II
Overtaking and Passing a Vehicle, and Turning at Intersections

Section 39. Overtaking a vehicle. - The driver of any motor vehicle overtaking another vehicle
proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a safe distance to the left thereof, and shall not
again drive to the right side of the highway until safety clear of such overtaken vehicle except
that on a highway, within a business or residential district, having two or more lanes for the
movement of traffic in one direction, the driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another
vehicle on the right. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a driver overtaking and
passing, upon the right, another vehicle which is making or about to make a left turn.

Section 40. Driver to give way to overtaking vehicle. - The driver of a vehicle about to be
overtaken and passed by another vehicle approaching from the rear shall give way to the
overtaking vehicle on suitable and audible signal being given by the driver of the overtaking
vehicle, and shall not increase the speed of his vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking
vehicle.

Section 41. Restrictions on overtaking and passing.

(a) The driver of a vehicle shall not drive to the left side of the center line of a highway in
overtaking or passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, unless such left
side is clearly visible, and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to
permit such overtaking or passing to be made in safety.

(b) The driver of a vehicle shall not overtake or pass another vehicle proceeding in the
same direction, when approaching the crest of a grade, not upon a curve in the highway,
where the driver's view along the highway is obstructed within a distance of five hundred
feet ahead, except on a highway having two or more lanes for movement of traffic in one
direction where the driver of a vehicle may overtake or pass another vehicle: Provided,
That on a highway within a business or residential district, having two or more lanes for
movement of traffic in one direction, the driver of a vehicle may overtake or pass another
vehicle on the right.

(c) The driver of a vehicle shall not overtake or pass any other vehicle proceeding in the
same direction, at any railway grade crossing, not at any intersection of highways unless
such intersection or crossing is controlled by traffic signal, or unless permitted to do so

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by a watchman or a peace officer, except on a highway having two or more lanes for
movement of traffic in one direction where the driver of a vehicle may overtake or pass
another vehicle on the right. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a driver
overtaking or passing upon the right another vehicle which is making or about to make a
left turn.

(d) The driver of a vehicle shall not overtake or pass, or attempt to pass, any other
vehicle, proceeding in the same direction, between any points indicated by the placing of
official temporary warning or caution signs indicating that men are working on the
highway.

(e) The driver of a vehicle shall not overtake or pass, or attempt to overtake or pass, any
other vehicle proceeding in the same direction in any "no-passing or overtaking zone."

ARTICLE III
Right of Way and Signals

Section 42. Right of way.

(a) When two vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time,
the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right,
except as otherwise hereinafter provided. The driver of any vehicle traveling at an
unlawful speed shall forfeit any right of way which he might otherwise have hereunder.

(b) The driver of a vehicle approaching but not having entered an intersection, shall yield
the right of way to a vehicle within such intersection or turning therein to the left across
the line of travel of such first-mentioned vehicle, provided the driver of the vehicle
turning left has given a plainly visible signal of intention to turn as required in this Act.

(c) The driver of any vehicle upon a highway within a business or residential district shall
yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing such highway within a crosswalk, except at
intersections where the movement of traffic is being regulated by a peace officer or by
traffic signal. Every pedestrian crossing a highway within a business or residential
district, at any point other than a crosswalk shall yield the right of way to vehicles upon
the highway.

(d) The driver of a vehicle upon a highway shall bring to a full stop such vehicle before
traversing any "through highway" or railroad crossing: Provided, That when it is apparent
that no hazard exists, the vehicle may be slowed down to five miles per hour instead of
bringing it to a full stop.

Section 43. Exception to the right of way rule.

(a) The driver of a vehicle entering a highway from a private road or drive shall yield the
right of way to all vehicles approaching on such highway.

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(b) The driver of a vehicle upon a highway shall yield the right of way to police or fire
department vehicles and ambulances when such vehicles are operated on official business
and the drivers thereof sound audible signal of their approach.

(c) The driver of a vehicle entering a "through highway" or a "stop intersection" shall
yield the right of way to all vehicles approaching to either direction on such "through
highway": Provided, That nothing in this subsection shall be construed as relieving the
driver of any vehicle being operated on a "through highway" from the duty of driving
with due regard for the safety of vehicles entering such "through highway" nor as
protecting the said driver from the consequence of an arbitrary exercise off such right of
way.

Section 44. Signals on starting, stopping or turning. -

(a) The driver of any vehicle upon a highway, before starting, stopping or turning from a
direct line, shall first see that such movement can be made in safety, and if any pedestrian
may be affected by such movement, shall give a clearly audible signal by sounding the
horn, and whenever the operation of any other vehicle approaching or following may be
affected by such movement, shall give a signal plainly visible to the driver of such other
vehicles of the intention to make such movement.

(b) The signal herein required shall be given by means of extending the hand and arm
beyond the left side of the vehicle, or by an approved mechanical or electrical signal
device.

ARTICLE IV
Turning and Parking

Section 45. Turning at intersections. -

(a) The drive of a vehicle intending to run to the right at an intersection shall approach
such intersection in the lane for traffic nearest to the right-hand side of the highway and,
in turning, shall keep as close as possible to the right-hand curb or edge of the highway.

(b) The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left shall approach such intersection in
the lane for traffic to the right of and nearest to the center line of the highway, and, in
turning, shall pass to the left of the center of the intersection, except that, upon highways
laned for traffic and upon one-way highways, a left turn shall be made from the left lane
of traffic in the direction in which the vehicle is proceeding.

(c) For the purpose of this section, the center of the intersection shall mean the meeting
point of the medial lines of the highways intersecting one another, except when it is
occupied by a monument, grass plot or any permanent structure, other than traffic control
device.

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Section 46. Parking prohibited in specified places. - No driver shall park a vehicle, or permit it
to stand, whether attended or unattended, upon a highway in any of the following places:

(a) Within an intersection

(b) On a crosswalk

(c) Within six meters of the intersection of curb lines.

(d) Within four meters of the driveway entrance to and fire station.

(e) Within four meters of fire hydrant

(f) In front of a private driveway

(g) On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the curb or edge of the
highway

(h) At any place where official signs have been erected prohibiting parking.

Section 47. Parked vehicle. - Whenever a motor vehicle is parked unattended on any highway,
the driver thereof must turn off the ignition switch and stop the motor and notch effectively the
hand brake.

ARTICLE V
Miscellaneous Traffic Rules

Section 48. Reckless driving. - No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any highway
recklessly or without reasonable caution considering the width, traffic, grades, crossing,
curvatures, visibility and other conditions of the highway and the conditions of the atmosphere
and weather, or so as to endanger the property or the safety or rights of any person or so as to
cause excessive or unreasonable damage to the highway.

Section 49. Right of way for police and other emergency vehicles. - Upon the approach of any
police or fire department vehicle, or of an ambulance giving audible signal, the driver of every
other vehicle shall immediately drive the same to a position as near as possible and parallel to the
right-hand edge or curb of the highway, clear of any intersection of highways, and shall stop and
remain in such position, unless otherwise directed by a peace officer, until such vehicle shall
have passed.

Section 50. Tampering with vehicles. - No unauthorized person shall sound the horn, handle the
levers or set in motion or in any way tamper with a damage or deface any motor vehicle.

Section 51. Hitching to a vehicle. - No person shall hang on to, ride on, the outside or the rear
end of any vehicle, and no person on a bicycle, roller skate or other similar device, shall hold fast
to or hitch on to any moving vehicle, and no driver shall knowingly permit any person to hang on

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to or ride, the outside or rear end of his vehicle or allow any person on a bicycle, roller skate or
other similar device to hold fast or hitch to his vehicle.

Section 52. Driving or parking on sidewalk. - No person shall drive or park a motor vehicle upon
or along any sidewalk, path or alley not intended for vehicular traffic or parking.

Section 53. Driving while under the influence of liquor or narcotic drug. - No person shall drive
a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or narcotic drug.

Section 54. Obstruction of traffic. - No person shall drive his motor vehicle in such a manner as
to obstruct or impede the passage of any vehicle, nor, while discharging or taking on passengers
or loading or unloading freight, obstruct the free passage of other vehicles on the highway.

Section 55. Duty of driver in case of accident. - In the event that any accident should occur as a
result of the operation of a motor vehicle upon a highway, the driver present, shall show his
driver's license, give his true name and address and also the true name and address of the owner
of the motor vehicle.

No driver of a motor vehicle concerned in a vehicular accident shall leave the scene of the
accident without aiding the victim, except under any of the following circumstances:

1. If he is in imminent danger of being seriously harmed by any person or persons by


reason of the accident;

2. If he reports the accident to the nearest officer of the law; or

3. If he has to summon a physician or nurse to aid the victim.

CHAPTER V
PENAL AND OTHER PROVISIONS

ARTICLE I
Penalties

Section 56. Penalty for violation. - The following penalties shall be imposed for violations of
this Act:

(a) For registering later than seven days after acquiring title to 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 fine fifty per cent of the registration fees corresponding to the
portion of the year for which the vehicle is registered for use.

(b) For failure to sign driver's license or to carry same while driving, twenty pesos fine.

(c) Driving a vehicle with a delinquent or invalid driver's license, fifty pesos fine.

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(d) Driving a motor vehicle with delinquent, suspended or invalid registration, or without
registration or without the proper license plate for the current year, three hundred pesos
fine.

(e) Driving a motor vehicle without first securing a driver's license, three hundred pesos
fine.

(f) Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or narcotic drug, a fine of
not less than two hundred pesos nor more than five hundred pesos, or imprisonment of
not more than three months, or both, at the discretion of the Court.

(g) Violation of Section thirty-two, thirty-four (a), (b) and (b-1), thirty-five and forty-six a
fine not exceeding one hundred pesos: Provided, however, That in the case of violation of
Section 34 (b) the vehicle or vehicles affected may not be allowed to operate unless the
requirements provided in this section are complied with.

(h) Violations of Sections forty-nine, fifty and fifty-two, a fine not exceeding fifty pesos.

(i) For making, using or attempting to make or use a driver's license, badge, certificate or
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, or false or
fraudulently represent as valid and in force any driver's license, badge, certificate, plate,
tag or permit issued under this Act which is delinquent or which has been suspended or
revoked, a fine of not exceeding three hundred pesos.

(j) For using private passenger automobiles, 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 driver's license for a period
of three months for the first conviction; 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 driver's license for the third conviction.

(k) For permitting, allowing, consenting to, or tolerating the use of a privately-owned
motor vehicle for hire in violation of Section seven, subsections (a), (b), and (c), of this
Act, there shall be imposed upon the owner of the vehicle a fine of five hundred pesos
and the certificate of registration shall be suspended for a period of three months for the
first conviction, and an increase of one hundred pesos in the fine and one month's
suspension of the registration for each subsequent conviction.

(l) For violation of any provisions of this Act or regulations promulgated pursuant hereto,
not hereinbefore specifically punished, a fine of not less than ten or more than fifty pesos
shall be imposed.

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(m) In the event an offender cannot pay any fine imposed pursuant to the provisions of
this Act, he shall be made to undergo subsidiary imprisonment as provided for in the
Revised Penal Code.

(n) If, as the result of negligence or reckless or unreasonable fast driving, any accident
occurs resulting in death or injury of any person, the motor vehicle operator at fault shall,
upon conviction, be punished under the provisions of the Revised Penal Code.

Section 57. Punishment for other offenses. - The conviction of any person for any offense under
this Act shall not bar his prosecution for any other offense which may have been committed by
such person concurrently with the commission of the offense of which he was convicted or in
doing the act or series of acts which constituted the offense of which he was convicted.

Section 58. Duty of clerks of court. - It is hereby made the duty of clerks of the Court of First
Instance, the City Court of Municipal Court trying traffic violation cases to certify to the
Commission the result of any case, whether criminal or civil, involving violations of any
provision of this Act or of other laws and ordinances relating to motor vehicles. Said certificate
shall specifically contain the name of the driver or owner of the vehicle involved, his address, the
number of his license and/or of the certificate or registration of his vehicle, and the date thereof,
and the offense of which he was convicted or acquitted.

ARTICLE II
Collection of Fees, Taxes and Fines, Liens, Allotment of Funds

Section 59. (a) Collection of fees; national and local taxes; toll fees. - The collection of all fees,
taxes, and fines, under the provisions of this Act shall be made in accordance with regulations to
be prescribed by the Commissioner and approved jointly by the Auditor General.

(b) No taxes or fees other 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 enact and collect
such reasonable and equitable toll fees for the use of such bridges and ferries, within their
respective jurisdiction, 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 has been posted
legibly in a conspicuous place at such toll station.

Section 60. The lien upon motor vehicles. - Any balance of fees for registration, re-registration or
delinquent registration of a motor vehicle, remaining unpaid and all fines imposed upon any
vehicle owner, shall constitute a first lien upon the motor vehicle concerned.

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The Commission is hereby vested with authority to issue a warrant of constructive or actual
distraint or and levy to any owner of motor vehicle who has any balance of fees for registration,
re-registration or delinquent registration of a motor vehicle remaining unpaid, which upon
demand by the Commissioner of the Land Transportation Commission or any of his deputies
executing such warrant, the owner of the said vehicle shall surrender same at the time demanded,
except when the attachment or execution is under any judicial process. Any owner who fails or
refuses to surrender any of such property or vehicle not so surrendered shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding the amount of the fees (including penalties and interests, if any) for the
collection of which such warrant has been issued, together with the costs and interests, if any,
from the time of such surrender. In addition, such owner shall punished by a fine of not more
than three hundred pesos or an imprisonment not more than six months, or both.

Section 61. Disposal of monies collected. - Monies collected under the provisions of this Act
shall be deposited in a special trust account in the National Treasury to constitute the Highway
Special Fund, which shall be apportioned and expended in accordance with the provisions of the
"Philippine Highway Act of 1953": Provided, however, That the amount necessary to maintain
and equip the Land Transportation Commission but not to exceed fifteen per cent of the total
collections during any one year, shall be set aside for the purpose.

ARTICLE III
Final Provisions

Section 62. No provincial board, city or municipal board or council shall enact or enforce any
ordinance or resolution in conflict with the provisions of this Act, or prohibiting any deputy or
agent of the Commission to enforce this Act within their respective territorial jurisdiction and the
provisions of any charter to the contrary notwithstanding.

Section 63. Repeal of laws and ordinances. - Act Numbered Thirty-nine hundred ninety-two, as
amended, and all laws, executive orders, ordinances, resolutions, regulations, or parts thereof in
conflict with the provisions of this Act are repealed: Provided, however, That nothing contained
in this Act shall be construed as limiting or superseding any provisions of the Public Service Act,
as amended, with respect to the control by the Public Service Commission of motor vehicles
operating as public service, nor shall any provision of this Act be construed as limiting or
abridging the powers conferred upon and exercised by the Public Service Commission with
regards to the control and supervision of the operation of such motor vehicles as public service.

Section 64. Appropriation. - To carry out effectively the provisions of this Act, the amount of
two hundred fifty thousand pesos is hereby appropriated out of the fees collected under this Act,
in addition to the appropriations provided in the General Appropriations Act, for the expense of
this Commission for the fiscal year beginning July first, nineteen hundred and sixty-four, to June
thirtieth, nineteen hundred and sixty-five: Provided, however, That any savings in the
appropriations of the Motor Vehicles Office for the fiscal year beginning July first, nineteen
hundred and sixty-three, to June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and sixty-four shall likewise be
available for this purpose.

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Section 65. Separability. - If any provisions of this Act or the application thereof to any person
or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of such provision to
other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

Section 66. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION

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(NTC)

National Telecommunications Office

Head

The NTC is headed by a Commissioner appointed by the President.

List of Commissioners

Commissioner From To

Ceferino C. Carreon August 23, 1979 March 14, 1986

Tomas C. Reyes March 14, 1986 April 1, 1986

Jose Luis A. Alcuaz March 23, 1987 November 12, 1989

Josefina T. Lichauco (acting) November 13, 1989 September 3, 1991

Mariano E. Benedicto II September 4, 1991 December 31, 1992

Simeon L. Kintanar January 7, 1993 January 31, 1998

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Fidelo Q. Dumlao (acting) February 1, 1998 July 15, 1998

Ponciano V. Cruz, Jr. July 16, 1998 December 14, 1998

Joseph A. Santiago December 16, 1998 February 8, 2001

Agustin R. Bengzon (acting) February 12, 2001 February 25, 2001

Eliseo M. Rio, Jr. February 26, 2001 October 8, 2002

Armi Jane R. Borje October 28, 2002 January 16, 2004

Ronald O. Solis January 19, 2004 November 29, 2006

Abraham R. Abesamis November 30, 2006 August 10, 2007

Ruel V. Canobas August 13, 2007 July 31, 2009

Gamaliel Asis Cordoba August 1, 2009 Present

Contact Information

Agham Road, East Triangle, Diliman, Quezon City


Tel.: 924-4042; 924-4048; 921-7128 TF
Email: commissioner@ntc.gov.ph
Website: www.ntc.gov.ph

History

The Philippines' National Telecommunications Commission (Filipino: Pambansng Komisyn sa


Telekomunikasyn), abbreviated as NTC, is an attached agency of the Office of the President of
the Philippines responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over all
telecommunications services throughout the country.

NTC is currently headed by Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, who assumed office on August
2009, and served within the three administrations of former presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
and Benigno Aquino III, and incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was created under Executive Order No.
546 promulgated on July 23, 1979, and conferred with regulatory and quasi-judicial functions
taken over from the Board of Communications and the Telecommunications Control Bureau,
which were abolished in the same Order.

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Primarily, the NTC is the sole body that exercises jurisdiction over the supervision, adjudication
and control over all telecommunications services throughout the country. For the effective
enforcement of this responsibility, it adopts and promulgates such guidelines, rules, and
regulations relative to the establishment operation and maintenance of various
telecommunications facilities and services nationwide.

Although independent insofar as its regulatory and quasi-judicial functions are concerned, the
NTC remains under the administrative supervision of the Department of Transportation and
Communications as an attached agency. However, with respect to its quasi-judicial functions,
NTC's decisions are appealable only and directly to the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

MANDATE

To regulate the installation, operation and maintenance of radio stations both for private and
public use. (Radio Control Law, Act No. 3846, as amended)

To regulate and supervise the provision of public telecommunications services (Radio Control
Law, Act No. 3846, as amended and Public Telecommunications Policy Act of 1995, RA No.
7925)

To manage the radio spectrum (Radio Control Law, Act No. 3846, as amended and Public
Telecommunications Policy Act of 1995, RA No. 7925)

To regulate and supervise radio and television broadcast stations, cable television (CATV) and
pay television (EO No. 546 and EO No. 205)

VISION

By 2020, National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) is a world class regulatory agency


able to lead the Telecommunications and Information sector as an engine for progress and
development.

MISSION

The National Telecommunications Commission shall proactively and continually create a


responsive regulatory environment for a viable, affordable, reliable and accessible
telecommunications and information infrastructure and services to ensure the welfare and
protection of our people.

Timeline

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1927: Act No. 3396 known as the Ship Radio Station Law was enacted.The Radio Construction
and Maintenance Section, the first radio regulatory office was charged to enforce the said law.

1931: Act No. 3846 known as the Radio Control Law was enacted. The Radio Control Division
in the Bureau of Post was created under the jurisdiction of the then Secretary of Commerce and
Communications.

1939: The Radio Control Division was transferred to the Department of National Defense which
was organized pursuant to Executive Order No. 230.

1947: The Radio Control Division was again transferred to the Department of Commerce and
Industry which was created pursuant to Executive Order No. 230.

1951: Republic Act 1476 was enacted abolishing the Radio Control Board.

1962: Department Order 51 was issued changing the name of the Radio Control Division to the
Radio Control Office.

1972: The Board of Communications (BOC) was created under the Integrated Reorganization
Law. It was the first quasi-judicial body with adjudicatory powers on matters involving
telecommunications services.

1974: The Radio Control Office was renamed the Telecommunications Control Bureau.

1979: By virtue of Executive Order 546, the TCB and the BOC were integrated into a single
entity now known as the National Telecommunications Commission. The Ministry of
Transportation and Communications, which was created under the same Order has administrative
jurisdiction over the NTC.

1987: President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order 125-A making the NTC an attached
agency of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

2004: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 269 creating the Commission
on Information and Communications Technology and transferring the NTC from the DOTC to
the CICT.

2005: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 454 transferring the NTC
back to the DOTC.

2008: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 648 transferring the NTC
back to the CICT.

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2011: Benigno S. Aquino III issued Executive Order No. 47 (June 23, 2011) which retains the
NTC under the Office of the President as part of the Other Executive Offices (OEO)

2016: Benigno S. Aquino III signed Republic Act No. 10844 creating the Department of
Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and making the NTC an attached agency
of the newly created executive department.

Effectiveness

The National Telecommunications Commission has been hands off since 1995 with the
passage of Republic Act No. 7925[2] which has effectively deregulated and privatized the
telecom industry. It is argued, that the hands off approach resulted in the Philippines having
one of the slowest Internet in Asia.[3] NTC itself stated the said law as "reason why the
government has difficulty in regulating internet service today".[4]

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 546

DIRECTING THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE TO UNDERTAKE ACTIVE


SUPPORT TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES IN INTERNAL
SECURITY OPERATIONS FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF INSURGENCY AND OTHER
SERIOUS THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY, AMENDING CERTAIN
PROVISIONS OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 110 SERIES OF 1999 AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

WHEREAS, Section 12 of Republic Act No. 6975, as amended by Republic Act No. 8551,
provides that the primary responsibility involving the suppression of insurgency and other
serious threats to national security rests with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and that
the Philippine National Police (PNP) shall, through information gathering and performance of its
ordinary police functions, support the AFP on matters involving the suppression of insurgency,
except in cases where the President shall call on the PNP to support the AFP in combat
operations;

WHEREAS, the National Democratic Front, the Communist Party of the Philippines and its
military arm, the New Peoples Army, have been waging an armed struggle against the
Government and the Filipino people for more than thirty years;

WHEREAS, the ongoing insurgency has a negative impact on the economy and resolving the
insurgency will foster a climate conducive to economic growth and national development;

WHEREAS, to effectively address this threat, there is a need for a whole of government
approach to ensure sustained, consistent, integrated and coordinated international security

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measures against the Communist Terrorist Movement and other organized elements/groups
engaged in armed offensives against the Government;

NOW, THEREFORE, GLORIA M. ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by


virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the following:

SECTION 1. The PNP shall support the AFP in combat operations involving the suppression of
insurgency and other serious threats to national security.

SECTION 2. In the exercise of its responsibility, subject to the concurrence of the appropriate
Local Chief Executive through the Local Peace and Order Council, the PNP is hereby authorized
to deputize the barangay tanods as force multipliers in the implementation of the peace and order
plan in the area.

SECTION 3. The Department of the Interior and Local Government shall exert efforts in
securing and institutionalizing funding support from Local Government Units. For this purpose,
governors and mayors, as deputized representatives of the National Police Commission in their
respective territorial jurisdiction, and in relation to their sworn duty to implement Section 16 of
the Local Government Code, shall ensure that sufficient funds shall be appropriated in their
annual budget for the operational and logistical support of the concerned PNP units for the
implementation of this Executive Order.

SECTION 4. The Local Chief Executives, in coordination with the Local Peace and Order
Councils, shall include in the integrated area/Community Public Safety Plan of their respective
city/municipality, the priority program of action/thrust in resolving the insurgency and other
serious threats to national security and ensure appropriation thereof for effective implementation
of this Executive Order.

SECTION 5. All executive issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are
inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby revoked, amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 6. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 14th of July, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Six.

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