DILG tells Cordillera LGUs: Open secured impounding spaces for motorcycles used in crimes
By Chito Chavez

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged local government units (LGUs) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to find enough space for the establishment of impounding centers for the storage of motorcycles involved in unlawful activities.
DILG-CAR Regional Director Araceli A. San Jose reminded the LGUs of Section 10 of Republic Act (RA) No. 11235 otherwise known as the “Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act” that mandated the provincial, city and municipal governments to allocate land for the establishment of a secure impounding center for the implicated motor vehicles which shall be under the supervision of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“It is imperative that these facilities are in place in our LGUs to aid law enforcement agencies to ensure that evidence will not be tampered with throughout the course of the investigation,” San Jose explained.
She explained that RA 11235 stipulates that a motorcycle used in the commission of a crime or offense shall be impounded by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as evidence in “custodia legis” (custody of the law) in these LGU-owned facilities until the termination of the case.
The DILG-CAR chief also directed the LGUs to develop and maintain a database for all impounded and released motorcycles that shall be shared with the PNP, through the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-CAR) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Operations and Control Center for real-time monitoring.
“We have directed our field operating units to ensure the compliance of our LGUs to the relevant provisions of the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act. We need to uphold the end of this act to deter motorcycle-aided and related crimes in the region,” she added.