MANILA -- The Bicameral Conference Committee has finished its deliberations on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill 2555 and House Bill 11113 which aim to amend Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.

Senate OKs Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act amendment

One of the highlights of the final version of the law is the removal of the requirement for two license plates or "doble plaka" on motorcycles, and instead retaining the use of a single plate on the back.

Thousands of motorcyclists protest 'doble plaka' law 

Senator JV Ejercito said they also considered the current backlog in license plates.

“We have about 9 million backlog [license plates], mas mabuti nang lahat may plaka kaysa , dalawa nga 'di maibigay. In terms of crime prevention what is more important is that for all the motor vehicles specifically motorcycle will have their plate numbers," Ejercito said. 

"But we retained the essence pa rin 'yung intention to use the vehicles, for example motorcycle for crime, mayroon pa rin pong may  imprisonment and mayroon pong fines. 'Yun ang main intention. That’s basically the gist or the main provisions of the amendment of the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act,” he added.

Ejercito said that the fines and penalties are more reasonable now.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino said the “realistic” date on when the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be able to address the backlog is June 2026.

LTO says facing shortage of motorcycle number plates 

“Ang problema nila ay yung distribution. Kaya nilang gawin 'yung plaka pero yung pagbibigay kanino man, doon sila nahihirapan,” Tolentino said.  

The RFID requirement for motorcycles will also be removed. 

“LTO said nagkakaroon ng problema with the RFID and at the same time, sabi nila y'ung plate number alone is enough for the enforcers to verify 'yung veracity and 'yung identification.'' Yun ang sabi ng LTO that’s why we agreed to delete already yung provision of the RFID,” Ejercito said.

Various groups including the Motorcycle Rights Organization had earlier opposed the controversial law dubbed as 'doble plaka' saying this could compromise the safety of motorcycle riders, while also disregarding their rights.

FROM THE ARCHIVES