OWNING a car in our country will be costlier when the Proof of Parking Space Bill of Senator Win Gatchalian becomes a law.
With such a law, buying a car will also mean “buying” a parking space.
The measure has become necessary because of the current state of affairs in our roads. Except for the roads in expressways and the major streets like EDSA, all other roads in our country have become parking spaces for all sorts of vehicles.
The practice of using roads for vehicular parking is obviously a major cause of the traffic problem particularly in urban centers. The continuous increase in the number of vehicles in our country also causes such problem. The Gatchalian proposal is directed towards said causes and is meant to contribute to the solutions to the problem.
A similar measure is enforced in Japan. Under the 1957 Parking Law of Japan, on-street parking is generally banned. A parking certificate is required in that country before a car can be purchased and registered.
Having a similar law in the Philippines will undoubtedly ease the vehicular traffic situation in urban centers in our country if such law can be effectively enforced.
In the Gatchalian Bill, the proof of parking space as a requirement for the purchase (and presumably the registration) of any vehicle is simply an affidavit executed by the would-be vehicle owner on the availability of parking space. Will such requirement serve the intended purpose of assuring that the owner has a parking space for the vehicle to be purchased?
The proposal also calls for local government units (LGUs) to enforce the law.
Shouldn’t the concerned LGUs have the responsibility of issuing a certificate of available parking space instead of simply requiring the would-be vehicle owner to execute an affidavit?
Yes, an LGU certification can obviously be another means of corruption. Control measures, such as supervisory intervention of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), need to be in place to address the corruption angle.
The LGU certification makes more sense than a car owner’s affidavit because it will be a bigger problem for the LGU when a car is bought even if there really is no available parking space. The LGU will be “busier” in apprehending illegally parked vehicles.
If the law will give LGUs the responsibility of ensuring that all cars have parking spaces, they should also be given the authority from the very start of the process – the purchase of the vehicles, i.e. certifying that would-be vehicle owners either own or has leased parking spaces.
