Bikers urged: Give bigger license plates a chance

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Richard Gordon yesterday issued an appeal for motorcycle riders to give his proposal for bigger license plates a chance, in the interest of public safety.

Gordon – whose Senate Bill 1397 or the proposed Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act of 2017 has been approved by the Senate – said the enactment of the measure is urgent because of the huge number of crimes being committed in the country with the use of motorcycles.

He told motorcycle riders that they should not view the issue as a matter of how it would affect their image or how their vehicles would look with bigger plates. 

Gordon said they should look at the bigger picture, which is that the country has a problem with extrajudicial killings, many of which are done by motorcycle-riding assailants.

The size of the plates currently used for motorcycles makes the license number hard to read, he said.

The license number cannot be seen on closed-circuit television footage, making it difficult for law enforcers to track down perpetrators, he added.

Gordon said what his bill intends to do is increase the size of the plates, but not enough to make the plates an obstruction. 

They would be color-coded so that their origin would be easily identified, he said, adding that there would be fewer letters or numbers for easier identification. 

The Land Transportation Office is also mandated to provide police a list of all registered motorcycles and scooters, including the name and contact details of the registered owner, vehicle identification number, plate number, body color, brand and manufacturer. 

Earlier this week, several motorcycle riders held a rally in front of the Senate to protest the proposed law.