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JV Ejercito urges LTO, local transpo offices to enforce ban on noisy mufflers, exhaust pipes

July 20, 2022

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Wednesday called on the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and local traffic enforcers to fully implement existing regulations prohibiting the use of noisy mufflers and exhaust pipes.

This was in response to a complaint raised by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia, who asked the lawmaker to speak up on riders using mufflers and exhaust pipes that emit excessive noise.

“I call on the Land Transportation Office and all local transportation offices to strictly enforce our existing prohibitions on mufflers and exhaust pipes that emit excessive amounts of noise,” he said in a statement.

Ejercito thanked the Cebu Governor for acknowledging his advocacy for motorcycle riders and raising the issue of noisy mufflers and exhaust pipes.

“I would like to thank Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia for acknowledging my advocacy for motorcycle riders and raising the issue of noisy mufflers and exhaust pipes. Like Governor Gwen, it saddens me that law enforcement has been lax on the implementation of existing regulations on mufflers and exhaust pipes,” Ejercito said.

Republic Act No. 8749, otherwise known as the Clean Air Act of 1999, defined emissions as “any air contaminant, pollutant, gas stream or unwanted sound from a known source which is passed into the atmosphere.”

However, the said law does not specify regulations for noise pollution coming from motor vehicles.

Ejercito was referring to several rules issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) against the use of noisy mufflers and exhaust pipes.

These include LTO Administrative Order ACL-2009-018, which prohibited mufflers/exhausts with sound levels exceeding 115dB when measured by a sound level meter from a distance of two meters.

In January 2021, the maximum sound level for mufflers was later revised to 99dB with the rollout of the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS).

LTO chief Edgar Galvante previously issued a memorandum, directing the agency to strictly enforce the prohibition against “bora-bora” or modified mufflers that cause undesirable noise.

As presumptive chair of the Senate’s local government panel, Ejercito recognized the efforts of several local government units, including Cebu City, in prohibiting these kinds of mufflers and exhaust pipes.

“And while we recognize the efforts of certain local government units in enacting legislation on this matter, we have a lot of work to do in ensuring that these rules are fully enforced,” he said.