Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
REGULATING THE USE OF BICYCLES AS AN ALTERNATIVE MODE OF 
TRANSPORTATION, DEFINING THE RIGHTS OF BICYCLE RIDERS, 
ESTABLISHING REQUISITE INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES, AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
In 2022, there were approximately 1.27 million private cars registered in 
the Philippines.1 Consequently, the greenhouse gas emission from the 
transportation sector in the country amounted to 31.54 million tons of carbon 
dioxide (CO2) equivalent2.  
With the growing number of vehicles, the transportation sector 
significantly contributes to pollution as well as daily traffic congestion, especially 
in highly urbanized cities.  
As the State provides that it shall protect the people’s freedom of 
movement, and their health as well as promote safe and accessible land 
transportation, several laws have been passed including the Presidential Decree 
(PD) on the Prevention, Control and Abatement of Air Pollution from Motor 
Vehicles, Clean Air Act of 1999, and the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) 
Modernization Program.  
The Philippine Bicycle Act proposes the promotion of bicycles as a safe and 
efficient alternative mode of public transportation that is fully integrated into the 
country’s transport system. It shall include provision for the construction and 
1 Statista Research Department. 2021. Number of Registered Private Cars in the Philippines 
2 Statista Research Department. 2023. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation Sector in the Philippines 
August 30, 2023
9:26 am
9000


maintenance of bicycle lanes, bike parks, and other bike facilities as well as 
education of cyclists to help make cycling a more viable option for transportation 
in the Philippines.  
 
This version of the bill was filed during the 18th Congress and was 
approved by the House of Representatives on its second reading. 
 
 
In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REP. PM VARGAS 
Fifth District, Quezon City 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
REGULATING THE USE OF BICYCLES AS AN ALTERNATIVE MODE OF 
TRANSPORTATION, DEFINING THE RIGHTS OF BICYCLE RIDERS, 
ESTABLISHING REQUISITE INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES, AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Philippine Bicycle 
Act.” 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – In conformity with the provisions of the 
Constitution to promote the general welfare and social justice in all phases of 
national development, protect and advance the right of the Filipino people to a 
balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of 
nature, and to conserve and develop the patrimony of the nation, the State shall: 
a) Protect the welfare and safety of the commuting public and all road
users;
b) Promote a shift towards a safe, collective, efficient, non-congestive, and
non-pollutive locomotion and transportation system that includes the
use of bicycles;
c) Ensure that the needs and safety of all road users, particularly
pedestrians and cyclists, are fully integrated into the planning, design,
operation, and maintenance of the country’s transportation systems;
and
9000


d) Establish its plans and programs in conformity with the overall national 
land use plan as well as the local comprehensive land use plans. 
 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. – as used in this Act, 
a) Bicycle or bike refers to a non-motorized vehicle consisting of a light 
frame mounted on two wheels, one behind the other, and having a seat, 
handlebars for steering, brakes and two pedals; 
b) Bicycle lane or bikeway refers to any longitudinal strips designated for 
the passage of a bicycle; 
c) Cyclist refers to a person who drives or operates a bicycle; 
d) Motor vehicles refers to any vehicle driven by a motor or engine and 
operates on a road or highway; and 
e) Primary and secondary roads refer to major roads classified as such by 
the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). 
 
SECTION 4. Inclusion of Bicycles as A Mode of Transportation in the 
National Transportation Plan. – Within six (6) months from the issuance of 
rules and regulations implementing the provisions of this Act, the Department 
of Transportation (DOTr), in coordination with the DPWH and National Economic 
and Development Authority (NEDA), shall come up with a National Bike Program, 
hereinafter referred to as the Program. The Program shall provide a roadmap for 
both national and local bicycle transportation systems to be adhered to at all 
levels throughout the country. 
 
 
The Program shall include the plans and strategies for the construction, 
provision, and maintenance of bicycle lanes, parking areas, and other support 
facilities. It shall also provide for the standards for bicycles and regulations for 
the exercise and protection of the rights of cyclists. 
 
SECTION 5. Local Bicycle Office. – A Local Bicycle Office (LBO) is hereby 
created in every city or municipality and shall have the following powers, 
functions, and responsibilities: 
a) Manage the construction and maintenance of bicycle lanes and road 
signages, including the identification of bicycle networks within the 
jurisdiction of the locality; 
b) Manage the bike park or parks; 
c) Ensure that bicycle lanes are free of any obstruction that can 
compromise the safety of cyclists and pedestrians; 
d) Encourage the establishment of bicycle parking and other related 
facilities; 


e) Encourage partnerships with local and foreign organizations to 
facilitate easy access to bicycles and bicycle infrastructures; and 
f) Conduct education and information drives on the benefits of using 
bicycles in coordination with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in 
order to promote the usage of the same. 
 
The staffing pattern of the LBO shall be determined by the city or the 
municipality concerned, subject to the personnel services (PS) limitations 
provided for under Section 325 (a) of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local 
Government Code of 1991. 
 
SECTION 6. Designation of Bicycle Lanes. – There shall be designated bicycle 
lanes in all primary and secondary roads for the exclusive use of cyclists. 
 
 
The bike lanes shall be separated by a physical barrier and shall be clearly 
identified with signs or pavement markings. In cases where the installation of a 
physical barrier is not feasible, the lane for bicycles shall be identified through 
reflectorized yellow painted lines. The specifications and designs of bicycle lanes, 
which must conform to the standards adopted by the DOTr and DPWH, shall be 
provided in the implementing rules and regulations of this Act. 
 
SECTION 7. Bicycle Parking Facilities. – All public places, government offices, 
schools, and major business establishments, including malls, banks, 
restaurants, hospitals, and the like, are hereby required to provide bicycle racks 
for bicycle parking. 
 
 
Bicycle parking shall be secured, visible, accessible, and segregated from 
pedestrians and motor vehicles. 
 
SECTION 8. Other Related Bicycle Facilities. – In addition to the bike lanes 
and bike parking, the following facilities shall be provided to ensure that cyclists 
can travel safety and to lessen if not avoid collision incidents with pedestrians 
and other vehicles: 
a) Sidewalk improvements; 
b) Traffic calming and speed reduction improvements; 
c) Pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements; 
d) Traffic signage pertaining to bicycles; 
e) Off-street pedestrian and bicycle facilities; and 
f) Traffic diversion improvements. 
 


SECTION 9. Bike Parks. – Each city or municipality, through the LBO and the 
City or Municipal Engineers Office, are encourages to create and establish a 
bicycle park where facilities such as bikeways, bicycle parking areas and similar 
infrastructure are available. The bicycle parks may be funded by the local 
government unit concerned through their respective revenues raised from the 
miscellaneous incomes like parking and license fees. 
 
SECTION 10. Rights of Cyclists. – All cyclists shall enjoy:  
a) the right to own a bicycle and use the same subject to such limitations 
as may be provided by law; 
b) the right to ride on any designated bicycle lane or bikeway or any public 
road or street that has no designated bikeway unless, by law or 
regulation, there is a specific prohibition that such road or street 
cannot be used for bicycles; and 
c) the rights granted to drivers of motorized vehicles, except those that by 
their nature are inapplicable, while riding a bicycle on a bikeway. 
 
SECTION 11. Obligations and Responsibilities of Cyclists. – Every cyclist 
must comply with the following duties and obligations, in addition to such other 
responsibilities as may be provided for in the National Bike Program: 
a) Ensure that the bicycle is fully equipped with basic bike accessories 
and in good running condition at all times and before using the same; 
b) Make sure to be equipped with basic protective gear such as a helmet 
and other accessories such as reflectors and bike lights while riding a 
bicycle; and 
c) Adhere to the applicable traffic rules and traffic signs and drive 
responsibly with extreme care and caution. 
 
SECTION 12. Limitations on the Use of Bicycles. – The use of bicycles shall 
be subject to the following limitations and such other limitations as may be 
provided in the National Bike Program: 
a) The number of persons that shall ride a bicycle shall not exceed the 
designed capacity of the same except when another regular seat is 
attached to it or when the bicycle is used to tow a trailer; 
b) Any person riding a bicycle shall observe safe and proper road usage at 
all times, including the regulations stipulated under this act, to ensure 
the person’s safety and that of other motorists; 
c) Bicycles may not be parked in areas other than those specifically 
designated as such by the LBO, except in the absence thereof; 


d) A cyclist shall use the designated bicycle lane. Except in certain 
circumstances as may be provided in the implementing rules and 
regulations of this act or by the LBO, a cyclist shall not use a bicycle 
on any sidewalk; and 
e) A cyclist shall not carry anything on the bicycle that will prohibit its 
proper operation. The carriage of such things in a bicycle shall be 
placed in a basket, bag, rack or trailer designed for that purpose in a 
manner that they can be carried safely. 
 
SECTION 13. Obligation of Cyclists to Remain in the Bicycle Lane; 
Exception. – Every person riding a bicycle upon a designated bikeway shall 
remain inside such lane, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or 
a vehicle proceeding in the same direction. However, a cyclist riding a bicycle 
upon a bikeway may move out of the lane under any of the following 
circumstances: 
a) Whenever overtaking or passing another bicycle, vehicle or pedestrian 
within the lane or occupying the bike lane if such overtaking or passing 
cannot be done safely within the lane; 
b) When preparing for a turn at an intersection or exiting into another 
road or driveway; and 
c) When reasonably necessary to leave the bicycle lane to avoid debris or 
hazardous conditions. 
 
SECTION 14. Flagging of Unsafe of Ill-equipped Bicycles and Dangerous 
Driving. – A uniformed police officer or any deputized traffic officer may stop, 
inspect, and test drive a bicycle that is suspected to be unsafe or improperly 
equipped. Such officer may also stop any cyclist operating a bicycle in a reckless 
or dangerous manner. 
 
SECTION 15. Operation of Bicycle on Roads Without Designated or 
Exclusive Bike Lanes; Overtaking Distance Requirements. – In the case of 
roads without designated bicycle lanes, all cyclists must occupy the rightmost 
lane of the road. 
 
 
The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking or passing a bicycle traveling in 
the same direction shall maintain a minimum overtaking distance of one and a 
half meter (1.5m) between any part of such motor vehicle and any part of the 
bicycle or the cyclist: Provided, however, That the DOTr may, in consultation 
with the DPWH, representatives of cyclist organizations and other stakeholders, 
provide in the rules and regulations to be issued to implement this Act exceptions 


to the minimum overtaking distance or a lesser requirement on certain roads 
taking into consideration the width of the road, the volume of vehicular traffic 
and other circumstances affecting the movement of road users. 
 
SECTION 16. Prohibition on the Use of Bicycle Lanes by Motor Vehicles, 
Exceptions. – Whenever a bicycle lane or bikeway has been established on a 
road, no motor vehicle shall be driven on such bikeway, except when necessary 
to enter or leave such road or to make a turn. 
 
SECTION 17. Incentives. – In order to encourage the use of bicycles as a mode 
of transportation, this Act grants the following tax reliefs and benefits: 
a) Expenses incurred by employers in providing their employees by way 
of benefits bicycles, related equipment and bike-friendly facilities shall 
be deductible in full from their gross income; 
b) All grants, bequests, endowments, expenses, contributions made to 
and used actually, directly and exclusively by companies, business 
establishments, and other institutions for bike-friendly programs and 
bicycle facilities shall be considered as allowable deductions from gross 
income; and 
c) Bicycles granted by employers to its managerial and supervisory 
employees in compliance with this Act shall not be taxable as fringe 
benefits as provided for under Republic Act No. 8424 or the Tax Reform 
Act of '1997. 
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, foreign and local 
enterprises engaged or proposing to engage in the manufacturing or assembly of 
bicycles may avail of the incentives provided under Title XIII (Tax Incentives) of 
the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. 
 
SECTION 18. External Financing. – The DOTr shall, in coordination with the 
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of 
Finance (DOF), explore the possibility of accessing a range of global financial 
sources to support the creation and maintenance of sustainable or less-polluting 
public transport systems. 
 
SECTION 19. Observance of the Carless Day. – To promote the use of bicycles, 
the country shall participate in the annual celebration of World Car-Free Day by 
designating every second Sunday of September as a carless day. The country 
shall also observe a National Car-Free Day every second Sunday of April. 
 
 


The Secretary of DOTr is hereby mandated to determine the primary and 
secondary roads which shall be carless during these annual celebrations. 
 
SECTION 20. Penalties. – The following penalties shall be imposed upon the 
persons who act in violation of this Act: 
a) Unless otherwise specifically provided, any person who violates any 
provision of this Act shall suffer a penalty of fine in an amount not less 
than Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) nor more than Ten thousand 
pesos (P10,000.00). If such violation causes damage or injury to a 
person or property, then the appropriate provisions of the Civil Code or 
the Revised Penal Code (RPC) shall apply. When the offender is a 
corporation, the officers responsible for the violation shall be meted 
with the penalties herein provided. 
b) Any public works official who approves the construction of main roads 
or highways without the required bicycle lanes in their designs shall be 
punished by a fine of not less than ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) 
nor more than thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00) or suspension, or 
both if found guilty in an appropriate administrative investigation. The 
same penalty applies to a public works official who is duty-bound or 
responsible for providing the required bicycle lane marking on existing 
primary or secondary roads and highways but refuses or fails to do so. 
c) Any person who shall violate Section 16 of this Act shall be penalized 
with: 
i. 
A fine of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) for the first offense; 
ii. 
A fine of Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) for the second offense; 
iii. 
A fine of Fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) and suspension of 
driver’s license for three (3) months for the third offense; and 
iv. 
A fine of Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) and revocation of 
driver’s license for the fourth offense. 
 
Provided, That the DOTr, through the LTO, may increase the amount of 
fine herein imposed once every five (5) years in the amount not exceeding ten 
percent (10%) of the existing rates which shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
 
The foregoing penalties shall be imposed without prejudice to other 
liabilities under the RPC or any special law, arising out or on occasion of any 
violation of the abovementioned section, when applicable. 
 


SECTION 21. Bicycle Awareness Program. – The Secretary of DOTr, in 
cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher 
Education (CHED), and the LGUs, shall establish an educational program to 
increase awareness of bike safety and road sharing. The program shall be 
designed for cyclists, traffic enforcers, motorists, and all road users. The program 
shall include: 
a) Traffic education and enforcement; 
b) Motorist Awareness and Road-Sharing; and 
c) Bicycle and pedestrian safety. 
 
SECTION 22. Nationwide Public Information Campaign. – The DOTr and its 
attached agencies shall, in coordination with the Philippine Information Agency 
(PIA), DEPED, CHED, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), 
Department of Health (DOH), Philippine National Police (PNP), Metropolitan 
Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and private agencies and organizations, 
undertake a nationwide information, education and communication campaign 
for a period of six (6) months upon the promulgation of the rules and regulations 
implementing the provisions of this Act. 
 
SECTION 23. Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the implementation 
of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. The LGUs 
concerned may provide the necessary funds for the operations and maintenance 
of the LBO in their respective annual budgets. 
 
SECTION 24. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Not later than thirty 
(30) days after this Act takes effect, a Committee shall be convened to formulate 
rules and regulations for the efficient implementation of this Act. The Committee 
shall be composed of the following as ex-officio members: 
a) Secretary 
of 
Transportation 
or 
the 
Secretary’s 
authorizes 
representative, who shall serve as Chairperson of the Committee; 
b) Secretary of Public Works and Highways or the Secretary's authorized 
representative 
c) Secretary of the Interior and Local Government or the Secretary's 
authorized representative; 
d) representative of the LTO; 
e) representative of the DENR; 
f) representative of the DOH; 
g)  representative of the Department of Trade and Industry: 
h) representative of the DOLE; 
i) representative of the DOF; 


j) representative of the Department of Budget and Management; 
k) representative of the NEDA; 
l) representative of the Bureau of Internal Revenue' 
m) representative of the DepEd; 
n) representative of the CHED 
o) representative of the University of the Philippines National Center for 
Transportation Studies; 
p) professor of the University of the Philippines School of Urban and 
Regional Planning; 
q) representative of the PNP; 
r) representative of the MMDA; and 
s) Two (2) representatives from bicycle organizations 
Within six (6) months following the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of 
Transportation shall promulgate the IRR of this Act. 
 
SECTION 25. Separability Clause. – If any portion or provision of this Act is 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not 
affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
 
SECTION 26. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive orders, 
presidential issuances, and other administrative rules and regulations or parts 
thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or 
modified accordingly. 
 
SECTION 27. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the 
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,