Presidential Decree No. 96 (No Wang Wang)

abogadomo.com — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:24:31 +0000

Much ado has been made with the recent campaign of the police to eliminate the use of sirens, blinkers and other similar gadgets that emit loud noises or otherwise used to navigate obnoxiously on the streets of Metro Manila and other areas of the Philippines. This is an offshoot of President Noynoy Aquino’s inauguration day declaration of “No wang-wang”! This recent development now begs the question, why only now? Presidential Decree No. 96 which regulates the use of sirens, bells, horns, whistles and similar gadgets that emit exceptionally loud or startling sounds, including domelights and other similar signalling or flashing devices attached to motor vehicles and used on the highways has been in effect since 1973! Yet, it is only now is there a conscious effort on the part of our law enforcement to give teeth to this long neglected law. We can only hope that this zeal would last and not be a case of “ningas cogon”.

Surprisingly, media has reported that motorists caught with wang-wangs and other prohibited devices have been fined the amount of Php 15,000. We’re not sure what legal basis was used for this but Presidential Decree No. 96 is clear that the penalty for a first offense is mere confiscation and it is only in case of a second and subsequent offenses that the offender shall be prosecuted for violation of the Decree and, upon conviction thereof, shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment for six months and/or a fine of 600 pesos. In addition, the certificate of registration of the motor vehicle on which the unauthorized gadget or device herein mentioned is installed, mounted or used shall be cancelled or revoked.

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Presidential Decree No. 96 (No Wang Wang)