MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
B6
-1
AAP welcomes
ratification of
Lemon Law
T
he Automobile Association Philippines (AAP)
lauded Congress and the
Senate for ratifying the Lemon
Bill, saying that it is a welcome
development for car buyers
nationwide.
AAP President Gus Lagman said that
the measure, which now awaits the approval of President Benigno S. Aquino III,
will protect the rights of Filipino car buyers who are sold brand-new yet defective
vehicles. "We all know that owning a
vehicle in today's fast-paced life is a necessity and buying one costs a lot, so this is
one bill that we are all waiting to be
signed by the President," he said.
Meanwhile, AAP Vice President and
Advocacies Committee Chair Johnny
Angeles said that the country has been
waiting for a Lemon Law and it is now in
the hands of President Aquino to sign it.
"Other countries like the United States
and Europe already have a Lemon Law. It
is high time that we protected our consumers as these defective, unsafe vehicles
can endanger the lives of not only those
inside the car, but also other road users.
After all, road safety is a priority for
everyone," he said.
Last June 13, the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee reportadopting the version authored by Rep.
Mark Villar of Las Pinas before the House
of Representatives-on the Philippine
Lemon Law of 2014 before the body's sine
die adjournment. After being approved in
committee, the report on the "Lemon Law"
will be transmitted to Malacanang for
President Aquino's approval.
"We now call on Malacanang for the
speedy approval of this measure as this
yet-to-be approved proposal would also
set quality standards for vehicles sold in
the country," Lagman said.
Under the proposed measure, if the
purchased motor vehicle is not up to standard in quality, the buyer may return the
vehicle to the dealer for repairs provided
that this is done within the warranty period of 12 months or 20,000 kilometers
from date of original delivery, whichever
comes first.
Under the recently approved Senate
Bill 2211, the consumer may invoke his
right to the Lemon Law by filing a formal
complaint before the Department of Trade
and Industry after at least four repair attempts by the same manufacturer, distributor, authorized dealer or retailer. If the
consumer is not satisfied with the results
of the repair job, he shall inform the manufacturer, distributor, authorized dealer or
retailer in writing of the unresolved complaint and his intention to invoke his
rights under the Lemon Law.
Further, the consumer will be entitled
to a reasonable transportation allowance,
which is equivalent to air conditioned taxi
fare (supported by receipt), or will be given a service vehicle while his vehicle is under repair.
Manufacturers, distributors, or dealers
that are proven to have violated the provisions in the measure will be slapped with
a minimum P100,000 fine.
AAP donates breath analyzers to Makati City
In pursuit of its campaign to curb drunk
and drugged driving, the Automobile
Association Philippines (AAP) recently
donated breath analyzers to the city
government of Makati for the use of local deputized traffic enforcers.
Last June 10, AAP President Gus Lagman and Vice President Johnny Angeles
met with Mayor Jejomar Binay, Jr. to
hand over four units of breath analyzerequipment similarly used in other parts
of the globe-that detects drivers who are
under the influence of alcohol.
Upon the acceptance of the equipment, Angeles showed Mayor Binay
and Makati Public Safety Department
(MAPSA) official Elmer Cabrera how to
use the breath analyzers and enforce
sanctions based on the implementing
rules and regulations (IRR) made by the
Department of Transportation and
Communication (DOTC), Department
of Health (DOH) and National Police
Commission (Napolcom) together with
AAP.
According to World Health Organization statistics, many fatal road crashes
involve drivers who are driving under
the influence (DUI). In May 2013, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into
law Republic Act 10586-also known as
the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving
Act of 2013-penalizing persons who
drive a motor vehicle while under the
AAP Gus Lagman (center) together with AAP vice president Johnny Angeles (at
right) hands over four digital breath analyzers to Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay Jr. for
the use of Makati policemen deputized to implement the new Anti-Drunk and
Drugged Driving Law. As part of its road safety campaign, AAP has been donating
breath analyzers to local government units and hospitals for some years now.
influence of alcohol, dangerous drugs
or similar substances.
AAP has been donating breath analyzers for some years now, such as the
time when AAP Vice President Johnny
Angeles handed one over to University
of the Philippines-Philippine General
Hospital (UP-PGH) Department of
Surgery chair Dr. Serafin Helvano during a road safety conference in 2009.
AAP purchases the breath analyzers in
the United States for less than P10,000
each.
In June last year, AAP President Gus
Lagman welcomed the passage of R.A.
10586, saying that AAP and even under
its old name, Philippine Motor Association, had been lobbying for decades for
the passage of a comprehensive and allencompassing law covering and imposing heavier penalties for drunk and
drugged driving.
B6
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
-2
MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
AAP urges ok of
incentives for
alternative fuel cars
THE Automobile Association
Philippines (AAP) has expressed
support for the proposals in
Congress granting incentives for
alternative fuel-powered vehicles.
AAP President Gus Lagman
said that proposals granting tax
breaks to the manufacturers and
importers of alternative fuelpowered vehicles would decrease
the country's dependence on imported fossil fuels, reduce air pollution caused by greenhouse
gases, and promote sustainable
mobility.
"Congress should prioritize the
approval of the measures filed in
both the Senate and the House of
Representatives so as to ensure
ample time for these muchawaited proposals to reach and
be consolidated and finalized in a
bicameral meeting and signed into law," he said.
Lagman noted that similar bills
almost overcame the final hurdle
in the 15th Congress after both
the House and the Senate approved them on third and final
reading. However, due to lack of
time, no bicameral committee
was formed, so the bills were not
signed into law. "We hope that
this time, alternative energy measures will be given more attention. The country needs a law
that would help mitigate problems involving the environment,"
he said.
The AAP president added that
the proposals were drafted because they will have a positive
impact not only on the environ-
ment but also on the safety and
security of motorists. Moreover,
he said that approval of the bills
and enacting them would benefit
not just the current generation
but also future generations..
Filed
during
the
16th
Congress, House Bills (HB) 387
and 2316 and Senate Bill 2151will provide excise tax breaks to
those who would manufacture,
assemble and import or purchase
alternative fuel-powered vehicles
such as electric and hybrid cars
for a period of nine years. They
would also be exempted from the
Motor Vehicle Users Charge
(MVUC).
HB 387-filed by Congress siblings Rufus and Maximo Rodriguez-would provide tax exemptions to importers for only
four years, compared to the nine
year coverage under HB 2316 introduced by Rep. Mar-Len Abigail
Binay.
Senate Bill 2150, on the other
hand, would promote the mainstream use of alternative fuelpowered vehicles by prioritizing
the approval of applications for
franchise to operate, including
renewal; exemption from the
number coding scheme; and free
parking space at new business
and commercial establishments
for nine years.
During the 15th Congress,
Senator Ralph Recto filed SB
2856 and Senator Bam Aquino
filed SB 2151, both of which have
similar coverage as the current
proposals in Congress.
PGRSP Launches
“Going for Road Safety
in the Philippines”
Thirty four people in the Philippines die every day as a result of
road crashes. In Paranaque City
alone, 300 road accidents occur
every day. To help revert this
alarming trend, last June 10 the
Philippine chapter of the Global
Road Safety Partnership (PGRSP), in collaboration with the
University of the Philippines
National Center for Transportation Studies (UP-NCTS) conducted a half-day seminar
called “Going for Road Safety in
the Philippines” on the basic
principles of Traffic Management and Law Enforcement.
Going for Road Safety in the
Philippines (GRSP) is a platform organized and managed
by the PGRSP to converge various road safety initiatives. It
aims to educate and empower
motorized and non-motorized
road users on how to make the
road safe for themselves and
their families; to equip and allow individual and organizational stakeholders to perform
their responsibilities better in
providing safer roads for the Filipinos; to help improve on road
and traffic engineering to meet
international standards; and to
provide road users and stakeholders venues for engagement
in promoting and working for
safer Philippine roads.
PGRSP Secretary General Alberto Suansing said: “The rea-
son we conducted this seminar
is to address the need of traffic
enforcers for more training in
order to elicit respect and obedience from all road users,
whether they be drivers, motorcycle riders, bicyclists or pedestrians.” Fifty seven Parañaque
Traffic Management Officers
and Barangay San Dionisio
Traffic Enforcers attended the
event. The key speakers were
former UP-NCTS Director and
UP Professor Dr. Jose Regin
Regidor and Police Senior Superintendent Virgilio Boado.
According to the World
Health Organization’s (WHO)
Global Status Report on Road
Safety in 2013, a total of 1.24
million people died on the
world’s roads with little observed change since 2007.
Statistics gathered by the Department of Violence and Injury
Prevention and Disability indicate that road crashes are the
8th leading cause of death globally.
Closer to home, Dr. Regidor
said that in the Philippines, the
figure is equal to 34 deaths every day. He added that in
Parañaque City an estimated
300 road accidents occur daily
and although most of these are
not fatal, it is, nevertheless, “an
alarming number. ”
The Global Road Safety Partnership is a non-stock, non-
profit organization that was founded in
1999 to uphold road safety advocacies in
over 32 countries. Launched in July 2009 in
Manila, the Philippine GRSP aims to reduce
road fatalities and coordinate, enable and
expand Philippine road safety projects and
initiatives. Its founding members are AAP,
the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers
of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI), Ford
Philippines,
Independent
Philippine
Petroleum Companies Association, Motorcycle Development Program Participants
Association, Inc., Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. (PLDT-Smart Foundation),
PARTICIPANTS of
the Traffic
Management
Seminar for Traffic
Enforcers conducted
by the Philippine
Global Road Safety
Partnership Inc.
(PGRSP)
PHILIPPINE Global Road Safety Partnership Inc. (PGRSP)Secretary General Alberto
Suansing (center) with some of the women participants at the Traffic Management Seminar
for Traffic Enforcers together with University of the Philippines -National Center for
Transportation Studies (UP-NCTS) as part of their project "Going for Road Safety in the
Philippines."
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Tollways
Association of the Philippines and the Truck
Manufacturers Association with support
coming from the Departments of Transportation and Communications (DOTC),
Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and
Health (DOH). AAP President Gus Lagman
is the chairman of PGRSP and AAP hosts
the PGRSP secretariat at its 28 EDSA,
Greenhills, San Juan City main office.
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
B6
-3
AAP travel organizes cruise-drive caravan
to Oriental Mindoro
CARAVAN members group photo at
the Puerto Galera welcoming mark.
AAP Travel, the wholly owned
subsidiary of the Automobile
Association Philippines (AAP),
in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT), organized a three-day tour touted as
"Oriental Mindoro Cruise-Drive
Caravan: Escaping the Urban,
Sailing the Southwest, Enjoying
a Road Trip Adventure to Paradise" on May 1-3, 2014. Most
of the participants, including
AAP President Gus Lagman and
his wife, Tess Lagman, Edgar
and Beth Tam, Helen So and her
family are veterans of previous
AAP Travel caravans and
brought their friends and families to experience the Mindoro
escapade.
The caravaners took the Supercat fast ferry from Batangas
City to Calapan, where they
were
welcomed
by
the
province's tourism officials, a
marching band, a police escort
and the Motorcycle Riders Club
of Oriental Mindoro. During the
next three days, the caravaners
visited the province's tourist attractions and cultural heritage
sites: the ruins of the Bancuro
Church in Naujan, which was
built in the 17th century; the
Lantuyan River and Hanging
Bridge in Baco at the foot of
Mount Halcon; the Tamaraw
Waterfalls in Puerto Galera and
the Iraya-Mangyan Village
where the Mangyans weave
baskets, handbags and mats.
Along the way, the caravaners ate, played or stayed
overnight in resort hotels: the
Benilda ng Bancuro Resort and
Restaurant in Naujan, Marco
PARTICIPANTS enjoy
the banana boat ride.
Vincent Dive Resort and Fridays
Boquete Beach Resort. They also visited the Infinity Resort and
Restaurant of Mon Rocamora
who joined AAP Travel's Ifugao
Drive Tourism Caravan last
February together with 1st District Provincial Board Member
Paul Luna. The Rocamoras and
Luna were the ones who persuaded AAP Travel head Mina
Gabor, who is concurrently an
AAP director, to bring the next
caravan to Mindoro, their home
province.
Luna and Naujan Town Mayor Mark Marcos were the local
government officials who welcomed and feted the caravaners, making sure that the visitors were treated to Mindoro's
best dishes and delicacies. Before the participants parted
ways, some of them shared
their comments about the tour.
Business Mirror Travel Writer
Benjamin Layug said: "I have
CLOTILDE "Closel" Marquez, a
caravan participant, leads the
way to the other side of the
hanging bridge.
CARAVANERS pause for a photoopportunity in front of Benilda ng Bancuro
Resort and Restaurant.
been to Mindoro so many times but the AAP
Oriental Mindoro Cruise-Drive Caravan
was a real eye opener, not only showing the
beauty of the province but also the cultural
diversity of the people. Our immersion with
the Mangyan community was a nice touch.
May they do many more caravans of a simi-
lar nature, kudos to AAP Travel for a job
well done."
The Oriental Mindoro Cruise-Drive Caravan was the eighth of a series organized by
AAP Travel with the cooperation or sponsorship of AAP, the DOT, the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro and Petron.
B6
-4
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014
AAP shocked and saddened by race car driver Enzo
Pastor's untimely death
The Automobile Association Philippines
(AAP) expressed shock and sadness over
the killing of Ferdinand "Enzo" Pastor by
unidentified gunmen in Quezon City. Pastor, 32, a former Asian Formula 3 driver,
was on board a tow truck that was transporting his V8 race car to Clark International Speedway when he was ambushed and
shot at the corner of Congressional and
Visayas Avenues in Quezon City.
AAP is the only affiliate in the Philippines
of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Paris-based organization
that governs all four-wheel motor sport
worldwide including Formula One, the
World Rally Championship and Le Mans 24
Hours. AAP Director and Motor Sport Committee chair Mandy Eduque said Pastor's
untimely death is a great loss for Philippine
motor sport since Pastor competently represented the country at sporting events in
other countries. "AAP deeply sympathizes
with the Pastor family," Eduque said. "Enzo
Pastor was a respected and talented race
car driver, an icon and a friend to all."
Enzo Pastor made his racing debut in the
1999 Toyota Corolla Cup. Pastor was the
first Filipino to compete in the EuroNascar
Race Series where he placed sixth in overall standing and was also the first Filipino
honored at the prestigious red carpet gala
night awarding ceremonies in Charlotte,
North Carolina. He made podium at the
CTM Macau Touring Car Race and won the
Asian Formula Renault Championship.
More recently, he was the runner-up in
Race 2, Pro Division's Round One of the inaugural race of the Asian V8 Championship, a series organized by his father Tom
AAP Motorsports
Operations Manager
Mark Desales (left)
turns over the FIA
Grade 4 license to
Nelson Gayola,
Corporate
Communications
Manager of Clark
International
Speedway.
(PHOTO BY TIME ATTACK MANILA)
AAP Sanctions the 2nd 2014 Toyota Vios Cup
Pastor and held at Clark International
Speedway.
Aside from racing, in 2013, the young
Pastor joined track side marshals in the Official Safety Practical training program organized by AAP and conducted by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport
(CAMS) with a grant from the FIA Foundation's Motor Sport Safety Development
Fund. Pastor will also be remembered as an
active proponent of grassroots racing via
his Local Circuit Showdown series.
Tom Pastor, Enzo's father, has asked the
National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the motive behind the crime and track
down the assailants. The Volunteers
Against Crime and Corruption (VACC)
urged the government to put up a bounty
that would lead to the arrest of the killer or
the one who instructed the hit against the
race car driver. Malacañang has also
pressed the Philippine National Police to
crack down on the high profile killings by
criminals riding in tandem on motorcycles.
30 cars all-lined up at the start of the 2014 Toyota Vios Cup
AAP Motorsports sanctioned and calendared the 2014
Toyota Vios Cup held last May 24 at Clark International
Speedway. Thirty Toyota Vios cars represented by different
Toyota dealer drivers, privateers, motoring media and
selected show business celebrities aimed competed for the
top spot.
AAP turns over FIA Grade 4 License to Clark
International Speedway
As the only affiliate in the Philippines of the Federation
Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Paris-based governing
body of all four wheel motor sports worldwide, the Automobile
Association Philippines recently turned over the original copy of
the FIA Grade 4 license of Clark International Speedway to Clark
track management. The FIA approved the Clark circuit as a Grade
4 license track that can hold international events limited to Grade
4 track requirements. The FIA Grade 4 license was the result of a
joint effort of Tom Pastor of the Philippine Formula Autosport
Foundation Inc. and Johnny Tan of Clark Race Track Management.
AAP Motor Sport Operations Manager Mark Desales (2nd from
right) welcomed showbiz personalities who went to the AAP
office to apply for competition driver's licenses to qualify them to
drive in the Toyota Vios Cup race. Photo shows (from left) Fabio
Ide, Jinno Rufino, Rhian Ramos and Phoemela Barranda.