MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has passed a bill seeking to regulate and standardize parking fees in establishments in the country.?
In session earlier this week before the sine die adjournment, a total of 253 congressmen voted unanimously to approve on third and final reading House Bill 7725 or the proposed Parking Operations and Fees Regulation Act, which seeks to “protect consumers” from “unreasonable parking rates and fees” by imposing a cap and liability for loss and damages inside establishments.?
Deputy Speaker for Trade Wes Gatchalian said the measure is necessary to protect consumers from unreasonable parking rates and fees while at the same time giving parking operators a fair return on their investments.?
“Customers pay a substantial amount to park their vehicles in these establishments, the least they can expect is that their vehicles are safe and are taken care of. Unfortunately, that is not the case now.
Parking establishments always claim that they are not liable for any damage that vehicles sustain within their property,” the Valenzuela congressman stressed.?
“So, on top of providing minimum standards, the proposed law will also hold establishment owners accountable for loss of property or damage to a customer’s motor vehicle while the said vehicle is inside their parking spaces by prohibiting them from invoking a waiver of liability,” he pointed out.?
Under the measure, confined and out-patients may use hospital parking facilities for free.
Visitors will be charged P20 per hour.?The bill also proposes free parking for customers in hotels, motels, hostels, inns and resorts, as long as they can present proof of transactions.
Non-customers will be charged P20 per hour.?Parking fees at restaurants will be free for the first two hours for customers, who will then be charged P20 per hour for succeeding hours. Non-customers will also be charged P20 per hour.
Parking at malls, supermarkets and other retail shops will be free for customers for the first two hours as long as they can present proof of transactions worth at least P1,000.
Non-customers will be charged P20 an hour and as much as P100 a day.?Meanwhile, open parking areas may charge P30 for the first three hours and P20 per succeeding hour, while multilevel parking enterprises may charge P40 for the first three hours and P20 per succeeding hour.
The rates for both parking spaces must not exceed P100 a day.??Street parking will be charged P50 per hour, while overnight parking and lost parking ticket fees must not exceed P150 per vehicle.
The chamber passed the bill after one of its members, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Rowena Taduran, earlier fell victim to “basag kotse” thieves who smashed the window of her sports utility vehicle while it was parked inside a mall in Quezon City.