President Rodrigo Duterte recently approved the RA 11235: Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act, commonly referred as “Doble Plaka Law” which requires bigger, readable and color-coded metal plates for both front and back sides of a motorcycle. This newly-passed law created a big controversy to the riding community.
In a recent conference attended by Land Transportation Office (LTO) Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante, Senator JV Ejercito, together with various leaders of rider groups and motorcycle manufacturers, LTO said that they were open to consider the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and decals as an alternative to the supposed front metal plate.
During the forum, different motorcycle rider groups and manufacturers in the country shared their sentiments on the law, highlighting the safety concerns if a bigger number plate becomes a requirement.
According to Asec. Galvante, the proposed bigger number plates are not yet final as they were still in the process of validating it. The Secretary added that there is a possibility that they could make it even smaller and they were also open to consider decals and RFID system as option instead of the perceived metal plates, if it was amenable under the law.
However, Galvante also said that they cannot go more than what is required by the law, nor go below the provisions of the law.