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‘Is the registration of private e-vehicles legal?’ and other questions that must be answered as the MMDA ‘regulates’ the use of electric motor vehicles
On Feb. 23, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said that it expects the Metro Manila Council “to approve next week proposed penalties on e-bikes and e-tricycles found using national roads.” This development follows MMDA’s Feb. 15 meeting with the Department of Transportation - Philippines (DOTr), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and plans “to regulate the use of electric motor vehicles and harmonize existing policies on them amid the growing number of e-vehicles on Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares.”
The Move As One Coalition is gravely concerned about these rash decisions and their possible negative impacts on e-vehicle users who have purchased such affordable and low-emission vehicles to meet their transportation needs. According to the LTO, in 2020, e-trikes comprised 56.8% of the registered electric vehicles in the country, followed by e-motorcycles at 35.6%.
The Move As One Coalition raises the following important questions:
1. Is the registration of light e-vehicles that are exclusively for private use legal?
During the Feb. 15 meeting, LTO Chief Atty. Vigor Mendoza said the registration of e-vehicles is among the possible changes. However, light electric vehicles that are exclusively for private use are exempt from registration, according to RA 11697. Sec. 9b states the following:
“Section 9. Role of the Department of Transportation. - The DOTr shall be the primary agency tasked with the development of EV demand generation, and the regulation and registration of EVs, as well as franchising of EVs used for public transportation. Towards this end, the DOTr shall:
(b) Promulgate uniform and streamlined policies, rules and requirements through its attached agencies on the use, operations, inspection, and registration of EVs, as well as franchising of EVs used for public transportation: Provided, That light electric vehicles which shall be for exclusive private use shall not be required to register with the DOTr and its attached agencies (emphasis supplied);”
2. Why are the people who actually use electric vehicles excluded from the conversation led by MMDA?
MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Romando Artes met with the aforementioned agencies and the traffic department heads of 17 local government units in Metro Manila to discuss measures that would regulate e-bikes and e-trikes, reports the Philippine Star.
But why were there no e-vehicle users present at the meeting? They are taxpayers, too, and deserve to have a say in measures that would affect their fundamental right to mobility and safety. They should be consulted.
3. Why does MMDA generalize that e-vehicles are dangerous vehicles?
According to MMDA’s Facebook post, Artes said: “E-vehicle units, e-tricycles, e-bikes, e-pedicables, [and] e-scooters … on the roads … pose grave risks and danger to the lives of concerned drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.”
The LTFRB said there were 556 crash incidents involving e-bikes in Metro Manila in 2023, reports the Philippine Star. These road crashes resulted in two fatalities and 273 non-fatal injuries. These deaths and injuries are indeed lamentable.
However, MMDA’s sweeping statement lacks context. The data from MMDA’s 2022 Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) shows that “bike/ebike/pedicab” accounted for 4.84% of the total number of fatalities; 5.88% of the total number of non-fatal injuries; and 2.05% the total number of vehicles involved in a crash. (Please see Annex.)
For added context, MMDA should release the 2023 data on road crashes involving cars and the number of fatalities and non-fatal injuries. Cars have consistently accounted for the highest percentage of vehicles involved in a road crash since the MMARAS began in 2005.
4. What is the basis of LTFRB Chair Atty. Teofilo Guadiz III saying that “e-trikes … hinder” the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Plan (PUVMP)?
Guadiz said, “These e-trikes compete with legitimate PUVs in getting passengers. We are coordinating with the MMDA and LTO to apprehend these units that do not have franchises to operate as PUVs.”
The Move As One Coalition disagrees with Guadiz’s assertion that e-trikes compete with PUVs. E-trikes can complement mass public transport systems by serving the “last mile” needs of commuters between transport hubs and their origins and destinations. E-trikes encourage bimodal commutes, which provides people with a lower-emission travel option than driving a car in areas without PUV coverage. “Two- and three-wheelers are not the solution to achieve an improved urban transport system but are part of the solution and must be adequately integrated into urban transport systems,” write Carlos F. Pardo et al. in “E-Mobility & Mode Diversity,” a policy paper which received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation Programme.
Furthermore, LTFRB’s shortcomings regarding the PUVMP should not be blamed on e-trikes. As Dr. Segundo Eclar Romero so insightfully discusses in his article, “PUV modernization: Trust-building failure,” “LTFRB is ill-equipped to successfully implement the (PUVMP) because it does not fully appreciate the situation of jeepney drivers and operators and the cultural significance of jeepneys in the Philippines.”
The Move As One Coalition asserts that MMDA should answer the questions above to formulate clear policies on e-vehicles that will be in line with Republic Act 11697, or the Electric Vehicle Industry Act, which states that it is the policy of the State to:
“(a) Ensure the country's energy security and independence by reducing reliance on imported fuel for the transportation sector;
(b) Provide an enabling environment for the development of electric vehicles including options for micromobility as an attractive and feasible mode of transportation to reduce dependence on fossil fuels;
(c) Promote and support innovation in clean, sustainable, and efficient energy to accelerate social progress and human development by encouraging public and private use of low emission and other alternative energy technologies;”
There are “substantial environmental and economic benefits of shifting from short-distance vehicle trips to e-bike journeys,” according to the Rocky Mountain Institute’s E-Bike Impact Calculator. “Replacing 25% of trips under 5 miles with e-bikes would be like taking 338,000 cars off the road,” reports Momentum magazine.
The Move As One Coalition calls on MMDA and all concerned government agencies to craft clear, legal, and carefully considered policies on e-vehicles with the participation of e-vehicle users. These policies should promote road safety, ensure the equitable distribution of road space, and be in line with environmental objectives.
In the interest of keeping our roads safe and accessible to all, the Move As One Coalition hopes that MMDA’s next steps will not result in hasty policies that will become barriers to inclusive mobility.
