Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 3543

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Being an underdeveloped country wherein majority of the
people do not own private cars, commuting has already been a
necessary activity in the day to day lives of Filipinos - be it
students, laborers, employees of the public and private sector and
even high ranking professionals. However, with recent reports of
the proliferation of taxi-related crimes especially committed
against passengers (i.e. drugging female passengers and robbing
them of their belongings, increased incidents of rape, murder,
theft and other crimes) it is quite an understatement to say that
public transportation has become less and less of a safe endeavor
in our country, particularly in Metro Manila through the years,
especially for the women. Undeniably, there is an impelling need
for State intervention to ensure thatthe commuters are provided
adequate protection from harm of their life and property.


Taxi cabs in particular are very susceptible to the
commission of crimes because of its peculiar nature or
characteristic as a public utility vehicle whereby a passenger
thereof does not share the ride with numerous other people
unlike in cases of jeepneys, fx/shuttles/vans, buses and the MRT
and LRT. Because of this, the passenger of a taxi is rendered
completely helpless and powerless once a crime has been
indiscriminately plotted against him/her either by random
aggressors who manage to flag down a cab, or worse, by the taxi
driver himself, and/or by the cooperation of the two. As there is
no one ready to rescue or help out a victim of a crime committed
inside a cab, the safety of a person’s life, liberty and/or property
is completely jeopardized. To make the situation even graver, the
said wrongdoers do not get successfully prosecuted because of
lack of witnesses.

The role of the State in protecting the life, liberty and
property of the Filipino commuters, especially the women who are
more exposed to heinous crimes such as rape, molestation,
physical abuse and even murder due to their delicate anatomical
attributes and weaker physical strength as compared to their
aggressors, becomes vital especially and specifically with respect
to taxi cabs which are by far the most risky of all means of public
transportation. The alarming increase in the official statistics of
the crime rate committed inside the taxi cabs, not to mention the
rapid circulation of unofficial reports of similar incidents via
social networking sites usually committed against female
passengers cannot be ignored anymore.

There is a need for an immediate solution to this serious
problem that would effectively deter taxi drivers and/or other


potential crime perpetrators from committing criminal acts
against the helpless passengers thereof.

The mandatory installation of GPS devise in every taxi in the
country will allow the taxi operators to detect and monitor the
route and the movement of every taxi cab real-time. Knowing that
their movement can be traced through the GPS, the potential
criminal, whether it be the driver himself or another
person/stranger, will be dissuaded from victimizing passengers
thereof.

Moreover, the GPS devise will also be able to facilitate post-
crime investigations (in the event that the crime gets
consummated) by providing more leads, thereby allowing the
competent authorities to easily and more accurately prosecute the
criminals involved therein. Apprehending the accountable
persons in such taxi-related crimes has always been difficult, if
not nearly impossible, for our law enforcers because of the lack of
leads. Through the approval of this bill, such limitation will be
downright addressed.

Indeed, GPS vehicle tracking units can accurately determine
a wide-variety of location-based data. In fact, aside from the
advantages explained above, the data from the GPS trackers can
also be used to calculate whether or not the cab drivers were
fairly charging customers.

Undeniably, the mandatory installation of GPS tracking
devise in every taxi operated for public utility would be beneficial
to all the parties involved - the owners/operators who can
maintain goodwill and reputation by promising the public good
and safe transportation services; the innocent taxi drivers who


may also be victimized at times; and more importantly, the riding
public who, aside from having to deal with the little
inconveniences entailed by commuting, expose themselves to
great risk upon doing so because they have no choice and they
need the said transportation,

It is for this reason that the approval of this Bill is being
sought.

Ow C. ow,

ERIC OLIVAREZ


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 38943

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MANDATORY INSTALLATION
OF GPS TRACKING DEVISE IN EVERY TAXI CABS BEING
OPERATED FOR PUBLIC UTILITY IN THE COUNTRY

SECTION 1. Name. This Act shall be known as the
“Mandatory GPS Act of 2013”.

SECTION 2. Definition of Terms.

GPS - “Global Positioning System” - a space-
based satellite navigation system that provides
location and time information in all weather
conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where
there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or
more GPS satellites.


Public Utility Owners/Operators - for
purposes of this Act, it shall mean owners or
operators of at least one vehicle which primarily
offers its taxi/cab services to the public at large.

SECTION 3. Mandatory Installation of GPS. All taxi
owners/operators, whether under an existing franchise or
upon application of a new one, are hereby required to install a
GPS devise in every taxi unit he/she presently owns/operates
or will own/operate in the future.

SECTION 4. Allowance for Owners/Operators with
Subsisting Franchise. Owners/Operators of taxi cabs under an
existing franchise are given two (2) months from promulgation of
this Act to comply with the requirement of installing GPS device
in their taxi cabs.

SECTION 5. Monitoring. The Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) shall conduct regular
ocular inspections after the lapse of two (2) months from the
promulgation of this Act to ensure that all licensed taxi
owners/operators have complied with the requirements of this
Act.

SECTION 6. Requirement for Application of a New Franchise.
Application for a franchise to operate a taxi business by a person
or persons who wish to own/operate taxi cabs as public utility
vehicles, shall not be granted until and unless the owner or
operator, upon the inspection and assessment of the Land
Transportation Office (LTO), is ready and/or equipped to install a
GPS devise for every taxi cab it owns/ will operate.


SECTION 7. Applicants to Obtain Certification from Land
Transportation Office. Applicants of a new franchise shall obtain a
certification from LTFRB stating that it is equipped with a GPS
Devise, and the said certification shall be attached or
incorporated to the other pertinent documents necessary for the
application process of a franchise to operate a taxi business.

SECTION 8. Pending Applications for Franchise. Applications
for franchise already filed before the LTFRB but pending approval
thereof upon the promulgation of this Act shall be deferred until
and unless applicants comply with the additional requirement as
provided under this Act and thereby acquire and/or equip their
business with necessary GPS devise. An additional requirement of
obtaining Certification from the LTFRB as stated in Section 7
hereof shall be submitted by the applicants whose franchise
applications are pending. Only upon the attainment and
submission of the said certification, along with compliance with
other requirements as required by existing laws, shall the
application be finally granted or approved.

SECTION 9. Unannounced Inspections, Authorized
personnel of the LTFRB may conduct unannounced or surprised
inspections of any taxi business to ensure compliance with this
Act.

SECTION 10. Requirement for LTO Registration. After the
expiration of two (2) month grace period required by this Act for
the installation of GPS, no taxi shall be allowed registration by
the LTO sans the GPS.


SECTION 11. Violation of this Act. Violation of any of the
provisions of this Act shall be meted with a revocation of
license/franchise to operate a taxi business by the LTFRB and
imprisonment for not more than one (1) year and a fine of not
more than TWENTY (20) THOUSAND PESOS against the
proprietor of the business to be imposed by a court of competent
jurisdiction, as the case may be;

SECTION 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The
Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) in
coordination with the LTFRB and LTO shall promulgate the
Implementing Rules and Regulations to carry out the provisions
of this Act. Such rules and regulations shall take effect upon
their publication in three (3) newspapers of general circulation.

SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential
decrees, letters of instructions, executive orders, rules and
regulations insofar as they are inconsistent with this Act, are
hereby repealed or amended as the case may be.

SECTION 14. Separability Clause. - In the event that any
provision of this Act or any portion thereof is declared
unconstitutional by a competent court, the other provisions shall
not be affected thereby and shall remain valid and enforceable.

SECTION 15. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect
after its complete publication in at least three (3) newspapers of
general circulation.

APPROVED.