MANILA — A bill seeking to require motorists in key cities to have an available garage for their vehicles before registration has been filed at the House of Representatives.

House Bill 31, also known as the "No Garage, No Registration Act," was filed by Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.

Speaking to TeleRadyo, Velasco said the bill seeks to ease traffic in side streets that are clogged by parked cars because their owners have no parking spaces.

"Kung wala ka pong parking space o garahe or proof of parking, hindi ka po pwedeng makapagrehistro ng iyong sasakyan...Yung sinasabi po natin yung public thoroughfares po. Marami po sa subdivisions nagpa-park sa side streets, which are actually allowed by the associations," Velasco said.

"I'm sure everyone knows kapag humahanap tayo ng ibang daan, aside from our major thoroughfares, diyaan po tayo napapadaan sa side streets. And true enough, mapapansin natin salabit-salabit ang pagpa-parking, kaliwa't kanan," he added.

Under the proposed measure, motorists who want to buy new vehicles will be required to secure an affidavit showing that they have an available garage or parking space.

The proposed requirement will be applied to persons in key cities and metropolitan areas such as Metro Manila, Angeles, Bacolod, Baguio, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Naga, and Olongapo.

Prospective vehicle buyers will have to present their affidavits to the Land Transportation Office as a prerequisite for registration.

The measure also bans dealers from selling any of their vehicles to motorists without affidavits acknowledging they have parking spaces.

Violators of the said bill may have their registration revoked, and vehicle owners may be suspended from registering motor vehicles under their name for 3 years. They may also be slapped with a fine of P50,000 for every violation.

"While traffic congestion can be the result of a myriad of causes, the same is exacerbated by car owners who routinely use public roads as parking spaces. When roads become parking lots, there will be longer trip times and increased vehicular queuing. It has been acutely observed that this situation is prevalent in the mentioned 12 metropolitan areas," Velasco said in his explanatory note.

"This bill seeks to require an adequate garage or parking space before the purchase of motor vehicles to be used in metropolitan areas to deter the proliferation of vehicles occupying the roadsides or sidewalks," he added.

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