Unauthorized towing now treated as car theft

The next time your car gets towed, you have a shot at filing a case of car theft.

That is, if the towing company has no prior clearance from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Under a new set of regulations approved by the Metro Manila Council, the MMDA now has expanded powers over towing firms.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando explained that while the operational aspect of towing is still under the local government units, registration and accreditation of the firms will now be performed by the MMDA.

Under the new rules, all Metro Manila towing firms will have to register their vehicles with the MMDA for the purpose of monitoring and regulating.

As a result, drivers of tow trucks need to call up the MMDA for clearance before a crew can haul any vehicle.

The MMDA can then verify the accreditation of the towing firm involved and enter all necessary details into a logbook for future reference before granting the go-signal to tow.

In addition to this, a tow truck has to blow its horn to try to get the attention of the car owner.

With the new system, car owners who are in doubt can now check with the MMDA concerning the operation of the tow trucks involved.

Fernando said the MMDA can verify whether towing operations reported by car owners are legitimate to prevent abuse.

If a reported towing is not entered in the logbook, then the incident would immediately be treated as a car theft case.

"We will automatically consider it as a carnap and the operator would be charged accordingly," he said.

However, Fernando stressed that the defense of the motorists against towing would be very limited because in almost all situations, towing of illegally parked vehicles is justified.

In the case of stalled vehicles, the immediate concern of the tow trucks is to remove them from the road no matter what the circumstances.

"Be it a flat tire or engine problems, it is the fault of the driver," Fernando said.

He added that in all the cases brought before the adjudication court of the MMDA, wrongful apprehensions account for only one percent.