28/11/2025
BASAHIN: Pahayag ni Rep. Terry Ridon kaugnay ng pagpapa-impound ng mga hindi rehistradong e-bike at e-trike.
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The LTO will most certainly assert that the basis for impounding is Section 73 of DOTC–LTO Memorandum Circular 89-105, which mandates the impounding of unregistered vehicles. However, the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA Law) clearly provides that LEVs intended for exclusive private use are not required to register with the DOTr and its attached agencies, including the LTO. In other words, the LTO cannot use DOTC–LTO Memorandum Circular 89-105 as the basis for impounding privately used LEVs, because these vehicles are not required to be registered with the LTO in the first place. A memorandum circular cannot override a later, specific national law.
Furthermore, there is no legal basis to apprehend and impound LEVs using major national thoroughfares, including national roads identified by the MMDA, because the EVIDA Law itself allows LEVs, whether privately used or for-hire, to use all major local and national roads. EVIDA mandates the creation of segregated lanes for LEVs, or their integration into bicycle lanes, along such routes.
To be clear, for-hire LEVs should be registered with the DOTr, its attached agencies, and the local government units (LGUs) in which these LEVs seek to operate. For-hire LEVs should be regulated by the national and local governments in the same manner as other for-hire modes of transportation, such as tricycles. But a clear distinction needs to be made for LEVs used for exclusive private use, which EVIDA expressly exempts from registration.
The entry of private-use LEVs into the market has democratized transportation for marginalized communities. It has allowed Filipino families to bring and fetch their children from school, visit churches, and buy food and goods in wet markets — all without having to pay for tricycle or jeepney fares for short travel routes. In other words, the entry of private-use LEVs has dismantled the price monopoly of other transport modes in our communities. This is fully consistent with the objectives of EVIDA, which seeks to make micromobility “an attractive and feasible mode of transportation to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.” The strong support of Filipino communities for LEVs is a testament to the success of EVIDA.
If there are concerns about the livelihood of other transport sectors as a result of broad LEV adoption, the proper remedy is to review and reform their entire business and pricing model. What broad LEV adoption has dismantled is the price monopoly long enjoyed by other transport modes in our communities.
Dahil sa mga e-trike at e-bikes, nakakapaghatid-sundo ang mga nanay sa mga paaralan ng kanilang mga anak, nakakabisita ang mga lola sa simbahan, at nakakapamili ang mga pamilya sa mga palengke nang hindi gumagastos nang malaki para sa pamasahe. Para sa mga tulad nila ang patakarang ito, kaya’t walang batayan para kunin ng DOTr, LTO o MMDA ang mga sasakyang gamit nila sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na buhay.
We call on the DOTr, LTO, and MMDA to abandon any plan or policy to impound LEVs, particularly private-use LEVs, and to review their policies and guidelines to ensure full compliance with the EVIDA Law. We will hold these agencies accountable, through the appropriate congressional proceedings, for any overreach against private-use LEV users.
Rep. Terry L. Ridon
House Public Accounts Committee Chair
House Transportation Committee Member
