Reaction to the so called proposal to ride against the "GRAY LAW"

People have started airing their sides on whether to go with the proposed rally against the LTO and the abusers who are using the new law to flag down motorcycle riders only...

Some are willing to join and some are against it due to the fact that they are dialogues taking place as we speak...

The said dialogues are between the LTO officials and MCPF...

A statement in which one person asked us the organizer of the rally to pull back said:

mga sirs and fellow MCP forumers, hinay hinay lang po tayo.
kung tayo tayo po ay hindi magkakasundo sundo eh pano pa nila tayo pakikinggan. wag basta rally ng rally. since nakikipagusap naman na pala sila sir Jojo, wag natin sila pangunahan muna.
hindi bat mas maganda kung mapapabalita na nasolve ang issue/problema through magandang usapan. mas magmumukha tayong edukado, kesa sa biglang rally na lang.
naiintindihan ko po kayo, kahit ako asar dyan dahil maraming nananamantala na nanghuhuli. pero baka masira ang integrity nating mga riders, dahil hindi tayo magkasundo sa mga diskarte natin paalala lang po. peace tayong lahat.

In a reply by the organizer him self, he said:

don pangan; Clarification po sa mga sandamukal na katanungan:

"who will lead the rally, who will negotiate, what is PMT and BMP?"

-PMT (Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Transportasyon) BMP(Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino) These are cause oriented groups na majority ng membership ay workers from factories and transport sectors. Malaking bilang ng membership nito ay mga riders or motorcycle owners na nakikita natin o nakakasabay sa kalsada araw-araw.pagpasok sa trabaho. These groups have been pioneers on advocating workers rights and welfare. Nakasama din natin sila sa paglaban sa polisiya ni bayani sa panukalang sticker plates on helmet.


Ang PMT ay laging ka engage ang LTO sa mga laban ng mga tricycle driver at tsuper sa mga issue isa na dito ay yung sa usapin ng kung may karapatan nga bang mag ticket ang lokal na pamahalaan bukod sa ticket na iniisyu ng LTO, MMDA at PNP. Isa rin ang PMT sa mga nagpapanukala ng pagtanggal ng VAT sa langis at pagbasura sa Oil Deregulation Law.

_Ang Secretary General po ng PMT ay si Dante Lagman na isa ring rider (rides a classic yamaha virago)

Sapat na siguro yan para lang makilala natin ang mga grupong nananawagan ng rally sa LTO.

"Hindi ako sasama kung walang endorsement ng MCPF"
-ok lang po yun, as i said ito ay independent initiative ng PMT at BMP at hindi ng MCPF and MAP. We are not forcing everyone here to join. Ino-open lang namin ang pagkilos na ito sa lahat ng mga interesadong sumama.

"Kailangan bang magrally?"
-Sinagot ko narin ito sa previous post ko. Ulitin ko na lang na if others are not comfortable in joining thats ok.

"Baka makasira sa dialogue or strategy ng MCPF"

- As ive said lahat tayo may karapatang nag organisa at kumilos so this is an independent initiative of our group, im just inviting others who are interested to join.

- Isa pa we are not joining the rally as MCPF members, its to our own capacity.

"Hintayin muna ang dialogue results"

naghihintay din kami, matagal na, pero we believe it needs a bit of a pressure para hmatapos na ito at hindi na dumami pa ang biktima ng kotong dahil lang sa polisiyang ito.

"The demands are not clear"
-The only clear demand here is to suspend the implementation of this LTO order hanggat ito ay anti-rider at kailangang baguhin yun ay sapat nang panawagan for now para mag rally para sa amin. Suggestions for a agenda/stands/calls are very much welcome.

Salamat sir helios and majongero sa mga opinions and suggestions ninyo. We will consider all those.

Inuulit ko po, this is not an MCPF initiative. Im just inviting all of those who are interested to join the activities.

Sana po ay nakapaglinaw ako. :)

My personal take on this is stated below:

Problem is, padami na ng padami ang hanay ng mga nag momotorsiklo ang nagiging biktima ng kanilang "batas"...

(The problem is, the number of people falling victim to this law is growing...)

Pano na ang mga kapatid nating na kukunan ng lisensya at pinag babayad sa LTO?

(How about our brothers who's licenses are being taken away and being asked to pay LTO to get it back?)

Di lang yan, pati ang mga taong nahuhulog sa kamay ng mga abusadong MMDA at Pulis na nag mamagaling na rin tunkol sa "batas" na ito ay nag simula nang abusuhin ang mga motorista sa kalsada...

(Not only that, even those people who are falling into the hands of the abusive MMDA and Police who are taking advantage of the so called "LAW" have started to abuse the motorists on the road...)

Pano na sila? Hahayaan na lang natin silang maperahan na lang ng maperahan ng mga damuhong nanghuhuli habang iniintay naten na masaayos ang mga "batas" nila?

(How about them? Will we just let their money be taken away by the people who are apprehending them while waiting for the "LAW" to be fixed?)

Pano kung katulad lang ito ng mga pangakong papakinggan pero hindi naman aaksyunan?

(What if this is like the promises that they say will be considered ot listened to, but will never be acted upon?)

I respect the position of MCPF and it's attempt to take this in ways that will not result in any rally or the likes... But we are not just talking about LTO here... We are talking about the people being subject to the very gray area of their "LAWS"... The people falling victim to the abusive traffic enforcers and "KOTONG" cops...

They have to realize that the later they do something about this so called "LAW", the more bikers will have to fall into their hands...

Even as we speak and air our opinions here about the idea of heading out and letting our voices be heard, a biker is being flagged down and being looked at as if he's a peso bill by these street sharks...

So do we just let our brothers in bikes take the fall while we all wait for something to happen?

Do we let them be victims and be sucked dry of their hard earned money for a "law" that's completely out of place?

Ang sa akin lang, buti sana kung proposal pa lang ito or iimplement pa lang... Kaso hinde eh... Padami na ng padami ang nahuhuli, nakokotongan at nagiging biktima nitong malabong "batas" na ito...

(In my opinion, This would be ok if this was just a proposal or something that is just about to be implemented... However, it is not... More and more people are being apprehended, loosing their money to the abusive enforcers and cops and are falling victims to this un clear "LAW"...)

If we wait for something to come out of this dialogue between MCPF and the LTO, how many more brothers do we need to sacrifice in order to get some results? Will waiting give them back their money and licenses? If it would then I'm willing to wait it out. If not, I will not stand here and do nothing while the people in uniform are taking advantage of them...

What will you do if you get caught yourself by one of these LTO operations? Will you fight it out with them? Will you play philosophy with them? Do you think every rider out there will know what to do or what to say when they get caught? Majority of the bikers out there don't even know whats going on and what this "LAW" is all about....

So do we wait it out or do we practice our rights as tax payers of this God forsaken land?

To the organizers of this movement, are we following the rules and regulations set about doing these types of events? Do you have a permit for this? If you do, then let the people know... If you don't have a permit for this, I suggest we follow the law and secure one before acting on the issue...

Because if this plan is being pushed with out a rally permit, I am against it... If it does have the necessary papers and approvals to conduct a rally, I will certainly be there...

Movement against the LTO, "kotong" cops and enforcers, proposed!

Derived from the MCP forums:

As per majority of forumers requested a rally, Pagkakaisa ng mga Manggagawa sa Transportasyon (PMT) and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) is planning to hold a motorcade from QC circle to LTO main office on Monday 11am.
Just want to know kung sino mga interested na sumama? We will also set a dialogue with Mr. Bert suansing on that day. Please list your names para malaman ng media gaano kadami ang sasama sa rally nato. BMP and PMT has target 50 rider-workers who will initially participate as starters. madadagdagan ito kung maraming clubs ang sasama, im still inviting others to join.
Please reply to this post kung sasama kayo at ilan kayo. Mods PM nyo lang ako kung kailangan ko gumawa ng separate thread for this one.

Eto ang proposed call:

AMMEND LTO ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. AHS-2008-015!
RESPECT RIDERS RIGHTS!

Posted by: don pangan of MCP.

Post can be found here:

http://www.motorcyclephilippines.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2701508&postcount=196

Warning! Sharks on the roads!

With the recent discovery of new rules and regulations implemented by LTO on the forums of MCP, a few questions linger in my head...

When was this brought up and announced on a nationwide and public scale? How come I have never heard of it except in MCP? How come there are no published articles and not even a certain grace period before they put this in effect?

I recently got my license renewed a couple of weeks ago and there was no indication nor posts about this new law on their public announcement billboard. All I know is that there was an interview and the LTO officer declared this law to be in effect.

Another question I have is, what ever happened to information dissemination before the passing on of a law? And how come we can't even see it on the violations, penalties and fines section of both the LTO and MMDA websites?

So they just flag you down, look at your bike, declare whats illegal, take your license and have you go to East Avenue to reclaim it for 2,500?!? And that is if you have put your motorcycle back to it's stock state. What about those who have modified their bikes before the so called "LAW" was put out? Since this law is new, doesn't it exempt these people from the new directive? If they were to prohibit these modifications on our bikes, shouldn't they go to the source of the parts first? Also, since they were not deemed illegal before this directive came out, shouldn't they at least return the money we spent on our bikes before they even make us follow these rules? I mean, these regulations are all new right? They haven't even updated the list on their websites and on their offices and here they are, flagging bikers all over Luzon and making us pay for something that was not even put into dialogue with our fellow bike groups and organizations.

What's more alarming is, the obvious fact that they are doing this to bikers only. Why are we being singled out from the other vehicles on the streets? We don't see them flagging down jeepneys for their modifications on their lights, body parts, horns, exhaust tips, wheel covers and what not. We also don't see them flagging down cars who are lowered, has inch thick tires, loud sirens, loud exhaust tips, loud sound systems and semi-racing to racing engines. Why just us motorcycle users?

Now, adding insult to injury, these LTO officers that we see on the streets conducting these operations have motorcycles themselves. Sometimes, the motorcycles they own have no plate stickers or no plates even, modified parts like what most people have and the officers who ride them don't even wear helmets themselves. Most of them doesn't even know what the stock parts are since a person was caught with a stock rear shock absorber that the officer was claiming to be an aftermarket part.

And if that isn't enough, PNP officers and MMDA traffic enforcers are taking advantage of this so called laws to dig deep into every bikers pockets that they come across. "Boss, bawal po ito, bawal po iyan! Naku, malamang di mo na matubos lisensya mo sa dami ng violations mo at ng motor mo. Impound na naten yan!" And the poor rider is left clueless and dismayed in hearing such claims. And when all hope is gone for the poor biker, the officer suddenly blurts out, "Aregluhin mo na yan dito para di ka na maabala at mapagastos pa ng mas malaki. Saka mo na lang ibalik sa stock motor mo para di ka na mahuli". Now, the rider, who probably uses his motorcycle for his livelihood (e.g. delivery/messengers), is forced to give in so that he can finish his daily routine. And of course, these officers/enforcers don't even follow the rules themselves. Riding with their slacks, riding with out helmets, Riding with the same stuff we have on our bikes and so on and so fourth.

Why are we being apprehended for such reasons when they don't even follow their own rules? And who ever came up with these regulations obviously know nothing about bikes or isn't knowledgeable enough to know what the parts do to our rides.

And each day, we see more and more of our fellow riders fall victim to these sharks... All clueless and dismayed that they have committed an infraction that they hardly know anything about... And whats worse is the people who catch them, have the same or even worse violations themselves...

What are we to do? I have searched high and low for other countries who have the same laws as these... Sad to say, this law, or shall I say "RACKET", can be found... "only in the Philippines".

In my honest opinion, the LTO has suddenly become anti-motorcycle since we are the only ones being targeted in this new set of rules they have put up. And since that is the case, what they are doing is discrimination, harassment and the complete and total disregard of our rights as bikers.

Whats next? The complete and total ban of bikes? Tsk tsk tsk...

Discrimination in the Philippine motorcycle community...

With the growing cost of oil and living expenses in the Philippines, a lot of our fellow countrymen has looked for cheaper ways of getting to work.

A good percentage of our people still look towards public transportation. However, with the growing number of people in the country, having to ply through thousands and thousands of people each day just to get from their homes to their work place is an exhausting experience. And once more, the travel from work to their homes drains the last remainder of energy they have to provide quality time for their families.

Now, with the increase of gasoline prices, a lot of our vehicle owners are looking for alternative means of transportation. Hence, the growth of the motorcycle community.

Over the past few years, the motorcycle population has grown and has given a lot of businesses and manufacturers a source of income on motorcycle sales, parts, accessories and services. This gave a lot of Filipino workers a lot of jobs in the manufacturing plants, distributors and retail stores for motorcycles and accessory shops.

And with the turn of the 20th century, a lot of banks started working with the distributors to make these bikes easier to acquire for Filipinos through financing. About 70-75% of the motorcycles in the streets are sold this way. This has given the Filipinos a cheaper alternative to riding their cars or commuting everyday. In the years that passed, we all enjoyed our freedom on our iron horses. Some use it for their daily commute and some out of mere passion for bikes.

Recently, our freedom has fallen prey to the hands of unscrupulous individuals in the government. And once more, the future of motorcyclists are being played upon by the other agencies that take advantage of our fellow riders and their bikes.

A certain issue regarding new laws was passed by the LTO has rocked our community recently. This is the new law indicating the proper attire and gear for all motorcycle users and the law prohibiting modifications on motorcycles.

We all understand that all bikers have to wear the proper gears when riding. These primarily refer to helmets, shoes and pants. There has been a recent activity where a few people were apprehended for wearing slacks while on their Underbone bikes. Slacks?!? Why would slacks be illegal to these law enforcers when they wear slacks them selves? Not to mention the countless times we have seen them riding unmarked and un-registered bikes without helmets even! Even the PNP motorcycle police wear tights for Christ's sake. So why aren't we allowed to wear slacks on our bikes? Although the LTO pointed out that heavy clothing mainly applies to people on bigbikes, the MMDA and PNP have taken advantage and is abusing these so-called laws on motorcycle gear. There has been reports of some bikes being flagged down because their jackets are not "HEAVY" enough. Seriously, what are these guys up to? Of course, they will let you go with a warning given that you satisfy their "pockets". So what's up with this? A fellow biker called LTO and asked about the "slacks" law and the person on the other line said that there is no such directive. So why are we being flagged down for what we are wearing?

On the other hand, LTO also announced that modifications and accessories can only be used if you obtain a permit or approval from the LTO. Without permits or approvals, you will be flagged down and your license will be confiscated! Then you would have to get it back from the LTO office in East avenue for Php 2,500.00! Who thought of this? And what is the reason that we are no longer allowing riders to improve or enhance their own bikes?

Yes, there are some accessories that are indeed useless and for show only. But a lot of the parts we install do have functions on our bikes. Now, the LTO has put out a directive to apprehend all those who have these modifications whether they be beneficial or not to our motorcycles.

Better shocks for better road handling, better cornering ability with rear sets, better visibility with headlights, better stopping power with bigger brake disks and calipers, better engine performance with oil coolers and camshafts and so on and so forth...

How is this bad with motorcycles?!? Why do they have to dictate our rights to improve our rides?!? That's why manufacturers have the clause, "warranty will be void if you modify such and such". What is the reason for this? Because we change the look of our bikes? Because they can't identify bikes who are stolen? Is this issue the fault of all bikers? So what gives?

Clearly, the law that was passed contains a lot of gray areas and the sharks on the streets are taking advantage of the situation. And this law hasn't even reached the vast majority of our riders. They did not publish not put in a grace period for this law. They just went on the streets, started to flag down motorcyclists who are clueless of this new, so called "law".

Now, with the recent events happening to motorcycle users, a lot of questions have been lingering about it. Why is this happening to motorcycles only? Why are the cars with lowered profiles, large mag wheels, loud rear end pipes and modified engines being allowed on the streets? Why are owner type and passenger jeeps who have all sorts of "bling blings" on their vehicles let go while we are being apprehended for our modifications?

Who gave them the right to demolish our rights to improve our rides while the people on four wheels are allowed to do so?!? Is he even a rider? Does he know anything about motorcycles? How about the LTO officers on the field conducting the checkpoints or shall I say choke points?!? Do they know what is stock and what is not? do they know if the modifications are beneficial to our bikes or not?!? How about the MMDA and PNP who are taking advantage of this and using it as a new means to make "KOTONG" to our fellow bikers? Have they been briefed about this?!? And how come, we have not heard nor seen any official and public information drive on this directive before they even implemented it?!? Aren't we supposed to be given a grace period before this law takes effect? How about the people who have spent countless amounts of money improving their bikes? Will they get their money back for this? What about the stores who sell these parts for a living? Will they have to close down and let go of their workers? For what? Preventing more bike related crimes? Giving LTO more sources of funds? What is this for really?

Honestly, this law is completely discriminating in all aspects because it is intended for people riding bikes only. Why do they put their failure to do their jobs on the shoulders of the innocent bikers? Just because a few bike related crimes happen doesn't mean he can generalize on all of us. That he can put a leash and tell us what we can and cannot do with our bikes. We are citizens of this country and we have rights however, it seems that our rights are being violated by the people who swore to protect them.

And where do we stand now? In the jaws of the people who are taking advantage and using the said "LAW" to dig their hands into our pockets!

So what are we to do now? Just let these sharks feed on our wallets or do we stand up for our rights as motorcycle riders? I call on the latter.

Speak up and let your voices be heard! Let everybody know that our rights are being violated and we are being discriminated upon by people who don't know anything about bikers and their bikes!