[ Act No. 2256, February 11, 1913 ]

AN ACT TO AMEND ACT NUMBERED TWENTY-ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO REGULATE MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGISTRATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND THE LICENSING OF OPERATORS, AND TO REQUIRE ALL VEHICLES ON HIGHWAYS TO CARRY LIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," BY PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature, that:SECTION 1. Paragraph (g) of section one of Act Numbered Twenty-one hundred and fifty-nine, entitled, "An Act to regulate motor vehicle traffic in the Philippine Islands, to provide for the registration of motor vehicles and the licensing of operators, and to require all vehicles on highways to carry lights, and for other purposes," is hereby amended to read as follows:

" (g)  'Dealer' includes every person making, manufacturing, constructing, assembling, or setting up motor vehicles in these Islands for sale; every person acting as agent for the sale of one or more makes, styles, or kinds of motor vehicles, and every person dealing in motor vehicles, keeping the same in stock, or selling or handling the same with a view of trading in or selling the same."

SEC. 2. Section two of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2. No motor vehicle shall be used or operated in, along, or upon any highway of the Philippine Islands unless the same has been registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act, nor by any person who has not  been licensed to operate such motor vehicle under the provisions of this Act."Any person convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred pesos: Provided, however, That if the vehicle so operated is for let or hire to the public a further penalty of not more than six months imprisonment may be imposed. Government Motor vehicles belonging to the Government of  the United States, the Government of the Philippine Islands or any of its subdivisions, or to any provincial, city or municipal government shall be regarded as registered under the provisions of this Act if they bear signs or legends plainly indicating to what department, bureau, or political subdivision the same belong and the number plates required by section seven hereof, which number plates shall be issued free by the Director of Public Works."

SEC. 3. Section three of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. Every person who owns or possesses a motor vehicle shall within thirty days from the time of acquiring said vehicle file in the office of the Director of Public Works or in the office of the district engineer for each motor vehicle owned or possessed by him a statement of his name, place of residence and address, the number and date of his cedula and the place where same was issued, a brief description of each such motor vehicle including the name, style, or type thereof, the name or title of the makers, the number, if any, stamped upon or affixed by the makers to the same, the number of wheels, the character of the motive power, and the amount thereof stated in figures of horsepower, the name of the person from whom the machine was acquired, and such other information as the Director of Public Works may^ require. Such statement shall be regarded as an application for the official registration of such motor vehicle."Every person acquiring a motor vehicle not registered under the provisions of this Act after the same is effective shall file a like statement within thirty-six hours after he has taken possession of such motor vehicle."Any person convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred pesos."

SEC. 4. Section nine of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 9. Every motor vehicle of more than three wheels shall at all times when in use bear in a conspicuous place on the front of such vehicle one of the number plates issued for such vehicle, and in a conspicuous place in the rear thereof the other such number plate.  And every other motor vehicle shall bear the number plate issued for it in a conspicuous place in the rear thereof. Such number plates shall be kept clean and cared for and shall be firmly affixed so that the number thereon may at all times be visible and legible whether the motor vehicle is in motion or not."Any person convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred pesos."

SEC. 5. Section ten of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows :

"SEC. 10. Whenever any motor vehicle is sold or any change of change in the ownership thereof takes place it is hereby made the duty of the former owner thereof to notify the Director of Public Works as soon as possible in writing of such change, giving the name, residence, and address of such purchaser or new owner, the number of the certificate of registration issued to cover the vehicle, and the number borne on the number plate or plates issued for such vehicle. Such notification shall be accompanied by a fee of fifty centavos, and the Director of Public Works shall cause the name, residence and  address of such  purchaser  or new owner to be recorded in the 'Motor Vehicle Register' in such a manner that the owner of any motor vehicle may at any time readily be ascertained therefrom.  Any statement indorsed on the back of a certificate of registration issued under this Act shall be sufficient evidence, for the purposes of this Act, of the ownership of the purchaser or transferee named in such statement, if the same be signed by the person in whose name the certificate was issued and complies substantially with the following form:

" ' .......................................             (Date.)            " 'I have this day transferred my ownership of the motor vehicle described on the face hereof to...................................." '....................................:......................                (Signature.)                    

"Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall -penalty, be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred pesos."

SEC. 6. Section twelve of said Act is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following:"Provided, That no dealer shall operate motor vehicles for hire unless same shall have been registered in accordance with sections three and four of this Act."SEC. 7. Section fourteen of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 14. The Director of Public Works shall cause to be prepared a form, which shall be furnished free of charge upon request, and upon which every person who desires hereafter to operate any motor vehicle as a chauffeur shall answer under oath all questions asked and give all information required by the Director of Public Works, including his true name, address and age, the number, date, and place of issue of his cedula, and the names, kinds, types, or styles of motor vehicles which he is competent to operate, together with the form and amount of their motive power, and whether his senses of sight and hearing are normal."The Director of Public Works is hereby authorized in his discretion to require an applicant for a license as chauffeur to answer such further questions or to submit to such an examination touching his qualifications as chauffeur, as in the Director of Public Works' judgment will best disclose the applicant's fitness and competency to operatemotor vehicles."If after such examination or without the same the Director of Public Works believes the applicant to possess the necessary qualifications and knowledge, he shall, upon the receipt of a fee of two pesos, issue to such applicant a license to operate as a chauffeur motor vehicles of the kind, style, type, or make and power described in the application until tine fifteenth day of January next following or until such license is revoked. But if the said Director does not believe the applicant to be a person qualified to operate motor vehicles he shall not issue a license as chauffeur to such applicant, in which event the applicant's fee shall be returned to him."Every license issued to operate a motor vehicle shall have a line or place for the signature of the licensee, and no license issued shall be effective as an authorization to the person to whom issued to operate a motor vehicle until after such person has written his usual signature in the place provided for that purpose."Any license not renewed on or before January fifteenth of each year shall become delinquent. The fee for renewal of a delinquent license shall be four pesos."The Director of Public Works may suspend for a period not exceeding two months or, after hearing,  revoke any license issued under the provisions of this Act, and may order any such license to be delivered to him whenever he has reason to believe that the holder thereof is an improper or incompetent person  to  operate  motor  vehicles,  or  is operating a motor vehicle so as to endanger the public; and the license so suspended or revoked shall not be re-issued, unless, upon investigation, the Director of Public Works decides that the operator may again legally be permitted to operate."Appeals from the decision of the Director of Public Works on the revocation of or his refusal to renew licenses under the provisions of this section may be taken to the Court of First Instance having jurisdiction within the district wherein the appellant resides."Any person who operates a motor vehicle while his license is suspended or revoked shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than two hundred pesos for each offense, provided that if the vehicle so operated is for let or hire the penalty shall be not less than ten days nor more than thirty days imprisonment for each offense."

SEC. 8. Section sixteen of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows.

"SEC. 16. Persons who have procured the registration of one or more motor vehicles owned by them shall, if they desire themselves to operate such vehicles, make like application as provided in section fourteen, and under like conditions as those therein prescribed and upon the payment of like fee, the Director of Public Works shall issue to such owners licenses to operate motor vehicles."

SEC. 9. Section twenty-one of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 21. Every person having motor vehicles for him and every proprietor of a garage shall keep, or cause to be kept, in a book having blank columns, headings, and spaces, to be prescribed by the Director of Public Works, a correct, exact, and legible record in ink of every motor vehicle which leaves his place of business or garage, showing the exact time of the vehicle's departure and return, the name of the chauffeur operating it, the name of the person to whom the same is rented, loaned, let, or hired, and such other information as the Director of Public Works may require. Such book shall be kept in a convenient place in said place of business or garage and shall at all times while such place of business or garage is not closed be open to examination by the Director of Public Works or his agents and any police officer of the city or municipality within which the garage is situated."Failure to provide such book or to keep correct and exact records therein as required in this section shall upon conviction subject the offender to a penalty of not less than five nor more than one hundred pesos. Upon a second conviction of such offense the Director of Public Works shall revoke the license of such offender."

SEC. 10. Section twenty-two of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 22. No owner or other person in whose name one or more motor vehicles have been registered under this Act shall lend to any other person any such certificate of registration or any number plate or other mark, nor give away or sell such certificate, number plate, or other mark, except upon the transfer or change of ownership or possession of the motor vehicle which is registered in such certificate, or for which such number plate or other mark was issued, and no person shall borrow such certificate, number plate, or other mark nor buy or purchase the same except upon like transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle as above contemplated. No person to whom a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle has been issued under this Act shall lend, sell, or give away, and no person shall borrow, buy, or purchase such license or permit."No person shall make use of any certificate of registration, number plate, mark, permit or license issued under this Act to or in favor of any other person or for any motor vehicle not owned or not in lawful possession of the person using such certificate, number plate, or mark."Every person violating the foregoing provisions of this section, and every person found guilty of stealing any certificate, number plate, mark, permit or license issued under this Act, or taking and carrying away the same without the knowledge of the person lawfully entitled thereto or against the will of such person shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred pesos or imprisonment of not more than six months."

SEC. 11. Section twenty-five of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 25. Unless a different course of action is required in the interests of the safety and security of life, person, or property, every person operating a motor vehicle on a highway shall turn to the left when meeting persons or vehicles coming toward him, and to the right when overtaking persons or vehicles going in the same direction and when turning to the right in going from one highway into another every motor vehicle shall be conducted to the left of the center of the intersection of the highway, thus:(see image)"Any person found guilty of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten nor more than one hundred pesos."

SEC. 12. Section thirty-two of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 32. Every motor vehicle of more than three wheels in use on any public highway, whether in motion or not, shall bear two lamps in front, one on each side which not later than one-half hour after sunset and until at least one-half hour before sunrise, shall be lighted. While the vehicle is in motion, the lights on a level shall render the person of a man dressed in dark clothing visible for a distance of not less than three hundred feet ahead and the light thrown forward or ahead of the motor vehicle shall be white light. Additional lamps and lights may be carried; but if one additional lamp is carried it shall be affixed midway between the two lamps hereinbefore required. If two additional lamps are carried and one of them is lighted the other shall also be lighted. The lighting of only one of a pair of additional lamps while the motor vehicle is operated upon a public highway is prohibited."Each such vehicle shall further, during the hours aforesaid, bear in the rear a lamp throwing a white light upon the number plate or other distinguishing mark issued for each vehicle and a red light to the rear. The hours herein fixed within which such lamps shall burn shall not exempt operators from the obligation of lighting such lamps or causing the same to be lighted at earlier or later hours or times when, on account of atmospheric or weather conditions or other phenomena, the use of such motor vehicles upon public highways might otherwise be dangerous or unsafe. Motor vehicles of less than four wheels shall, during the hours herein fixed, bear in front a lamp throwing a white light ahead."Every other vehicle, of whatever style, kind, make, character, or nature, when upon a highway during the hours aforesaid, whether in motion or not, shall bear one or more lights so arranged that the same shall be visible from in front and from the rear of such vehicle."

SEC. 13. Section thirty-three of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 33. Every person operating a motor vehicle upon a public highway shall on signal by any police officer and by raising the hand, or on request, or call, or cry from any person, riding, driving, or leading a horse or other animal thereon, bring such motor vehicle immediately to a stop, and, if traveling in an opposite direction, remain stationary so long as may be reasonably necessary to allow such horse or animal to pass, and, if traveling in the same direction, use reasonable caution in passing such horse or other animal, and if such horse or other animal appear to be badly frightened, the operator shall cause the motor of his vehicle to cease running so long as may be reasonably necessary to prevent accident and insure the safety of others and shall render assistance, if requested, to enable the person in charge of such horses or animals to pass with them. In approaching or passing a car of a street or other railway which is stopping to allow passengers to alight or embark, the operator of every motor vehicle shall slow down and, if necessary for the safety of the public, come to a full stop. No person shall unreasonably or maliciously call upon the operator of a motor vehicle to stop."

SEC. 14. Section forty-two of said Act is hereby repealed.Enacted, February 11, 1913.

Supreme Court E-Library