MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Works, filed a bill regulating parking fees in commercial and business establishments, institutions and parking facilities in response to public clamor.
"For several years, a bill has been pending in Congress to regulate the payment of parking spaces such as malls, restaurants and other places. Honestly, after all, it should have been enacted a long time ago. So now we will really push for its passage in Congress especially since it is a big reduction in the expenses of ordinary citizens," Revilla said in Filipino in a statement.
Senate Bill No. 1463 fixes parking rates in malls, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools and dedicated parking facilities, among others. These amount to:
- P20 for first 3 hours + P5/succeeding hour for all types of cars;
- P10 for first 3 hours + P2/succeeding hour for motorcycles;
- P100 flat rate for overnight parking for all types of cars;
- P50 flat rate for overnight parking for motorcycles;
- P100 flat rate for valet service, in addition to the regular parking fee;
- P100 in addition to parking fees for lost or damaged parking ticket;
- P200 in addition to parking fees for lost or damaged parking card.
The bill also mandates a grace period of fifteen minutes for pass-through customers who will be allowed to park for free, and likewise provides free parking for the first three hours for customers who spend at least five hundred pesos in the establishment.
"While we respect businesses that help grow our economy, we also need to balance and protect the interests of the majority. So we should only regulate the parking fees that sometimes are not fair anymore," Revilla added.
Some parking facilities and office parking spaces in the country, especially in central business districts, charge exorbitant fees that could go as high as P400 for 8 hours, which is already a huge portion of the daily wage of workers availing the parking space.
"Sometimes, our countrymen's income is just meager. Then it will be reduced a lot because of the very expensive parking fees in their workplaces. Or that instead of being able to add to their groceries, they end up paying expensive parking fees at the market or mall. So we should really pass this law so that we can help consumers," Revilla said.