MAPSA Incident - Colored Plate Cover Fine = Php2500.00

[jim]

Last week thursday I was passing by Mantrade on my way to my office in Pioneer Mandaluyong (my daily route). I was signalled by a MAPSA officer to stop and I pulled over. He informed me that my plate covers are illegal. I explained to him that it's been over a year that I've been using the plate covers as protection for my plates and that they're not hindering the visual display of my plates. I also told him to look at the plates if they are not readable and he replied yes they are readable but still they are illegal. He insisted that he remove the plate covers. So he removed them then took the plate covers into his motorcycle. It took him 15 minutes to issue me a ticket but I was in a hurry so I made no move to contest the ticket. I also did not want to bribe the officer.

This morning I went to Makati City Hall to redeem my license and to get my plate covers. WTF the cashier informed me to pay 2500!!! I was shocked!!! I tried to talk to her but she told me to go to the complaints office. So I went. The lady inside the office was nice to explain my violation. It's under the MAKATI TRAFFIC ORDINANCE Article 18 section 137 which was newly amended (not publicly announced) to include colored plate covers as illegal equal to tinted plate covers and using illegal commemorative plates.

I filled-up the complaint form and a hearing is scheduled on Oct. 17 at 2 PM. I also stated in the complaint that my car was just registered the week before and LTO checked my plate covers and they said that it was just fine. Here is the pic of my plate with the plate cover. Mas green pa yung plate numbers ko kesa sa mismong plate covers.

http://smbmountaineers.com/pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=0


Any of you have a take on this??? Maybe some of you guys know someone who experienced this and may like to share so that I will know what to do during the hearing. BTW our lawyer is also looking at this case kc para sa kanya kung may violation man daw ako Php2500.00 is way too much a fine. Ni hindi nga raw traffic violation yung case ko.

Thanks!

[shadow]

dude, bawal talaga yan considered tinted pa rin yan kahit na lite lang.....I just don't know kung pati yun clear eh kasama sa bawal....and one more thing republic of binay yan, kung yun window time ng coding eh hinde nila sinusunod eh, walang magawa MMDA...

[marco624]

Based on the picture, malinaw naman at kitang kita ang plate number.Masyadong OA lang ang mga MAPSA nayan, anyways, ingat na lang ang mga tsikoteers na me mga cover ang plate numbers, me sariling mundo ang makati e....Pero ung mga dark plate covers, yun ang dapat hulihin.

[1D4LV]

ganyan talaga dito sa makati. minsan nga, may nakikita pa akong na fla flag down na mga oto na "clear" ang cover plates eh.

[simplicity]

matagal nang batas ito eh. people just ignore them. readable man o hindi,
basta tinted - BAWAL.
if you still want to cover them plates, use the clear ones. i do.
please learn from your mistake(s).

[uvax]

Agree with shadow.

*marco624
ang problema kasi diyan magiging judgement call pa ng enforcer kung ano ang readable o hindi kaya any hint of tint eh hinuhuli.

[kapitan88]

yep, its really illegal. search mo dito yung post ng lto.gov.ph yung mga penalties, there is specific penalty for putting unnecessary stuffs on the plates. Oh and btw, fyi, we dont own the plates, its the states property.

[Syuryuken]

base sa pic tinted ang plate cover mo bawal talaga kahit nga yung clear ([SIZE=1]experience ng isang tsikoteer dito[/SIZE]) hinuli din nila. Tinanggal ko na plate cover para walang rason na parahin pa pag lumuluwas ako.

[JagXtrm]

araw-araw pumapasok ako sa makati... di naman ako hinuli sa clear plate covers ko.

btw, i've been using clear plate covers since year 2000 ... i just keep in mind to periodically clean my plates & plate covers every 3 months.

[Autobeat]

It may be readable in that pic. But side by side with another car with uncovered plates, at a certain distance away at night, your plate may already be unreadable, while the uncovered one can still be acceptably seen.

Anyway you may look at it, may kaunting restriction sa view ang shaded plate covers vs. sa wala.

Anyway, good luck in your case. We'll be awaiting developments you may share in this thread.

[creepy]

Abuso na ang pag-gamit ng mga 'to. I think people should just stop using these tinted plate covers. Even most 'clear' plate covers make it difficult to see the plate numbers because of the reflection of light.

[danesjr]

actually readable man o hindi, basta tinted hinuhuli talaga. kahit light na light lang basta me color. clear ones eh walang problema, I use the clear cover and I have no problems in Makati or anywhere else.
charge to experience

[shadow]

* creepy, hinde naman lahat abuso pag gamit nitong mga plate protector, gusto lang siguro nila maproctectahan talaga ang mga plates nila... wala akong maisip na other reason kaya gumagamit mga tao..at, pag dito ka nagpark sa binondo, you'll understand kung bakit kailangan ng plate protector...but still don;t have it in my cars, pero planning to buy this weekend...

yun mga gumagamit para makalusot sa coding yun ang mga abusado....ayaw magising ng maaga....I think most of the tsikoteers here have 1 or more cars so number coding is not a factor for using the plate protector....

[shadow]

sure ba kayo na pag clear talaga eh hinde hinuhuli sa makati? ano ba nakasulat sa ordinance nila? was it ALL covers are prohibited or tinted covers are prohibited? kasi malaki pagkaiba niyan....

[Galactus]

No offense bro, pero that policy was announced all over the media. Na-TV pa nga yan, and every forumer knows about it. Kahit saang automotive forum, may thread na ganyan, sometimes sticky pa nga eh.

Sa umaga, kita pa yan, pero paano sa gabi? I regularly go home after 8pm at madami akong nakikitang may ganyang tint. Ang hirap basahin. Paano kung naka-aksidente? Hindi makukuha yung plaka kasi may tint. Ang mahirap dyan, kung kakilala or kamag-anak mo ang na-aksidente. Maganda naman ang intensyon ng batas, so let's follow it na lang.

IMO, just learn from the experience. No use contesting the ordinance, I'm sure others before you have contested it, and looking at your posted pic, may greenish tint nga.

[Imau]

ang alam ko kahit gaano ka light ang color basta may tint bawal. no offense bro, but ano ba ang added benefit ng lighly colored plate protector vs. dun sa clear? kasi ako, naglagay ako ng clear protector, kasi dami mga malilikot na bata sa amin 2X na tinupi yung plate ko.

[theveed]

Nasa batas bawal yan, stop complaining about "pinagtripan ka lang" or "it's unfair, i've been using it for years..."

Kung pumapatay ba ng tao ang serial killer for 10 years, tapos ngayon lang nahuli pwedeng sabihin na "dati ko pa ginagawa to eh..."

C'mon

I got caught a couple of years ago when I forgot the expiration of the Alay Lakad plate and was fined the same amount, they're just doing their jobs.

[badsekktor]

yun clear plate cover ko nabasag kaya pinalitan ko nung plastic na clear. ok naman kapag tiningnan, mukhang frame lang ang nakakabit. lagi lang kelangan linisin kapag clear para hindi lumabo.

[simplicity]

kapag kasi matagal nang ginagawa ang mali, sa kalaunan nagiging tama na para
sa karamihan ng gumagawa nito. akala nila since hindi nahuhuli, ay tama na.
sa harap ko walang cover, sa likod meron clear cover. weekly ko nililinis. tanggal,
linis, kabit.

[trackers888]

Green kasi is color ng money! kaya madali talaga yan mapapansin.
My car also has cover, pero clear, as in clear na clear dahil laging nililinis.