The Senate has started ironing out the details of a bill which seeks to protect consumers against the imposition of unreasonable and exorbitant parking fees by malls, hospitals, schools, and other establishments.
The Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship has directed a technical working group to further study Senate Bill No. 745, or the Parking Fees Regulation Act, authored by Senator Win Gatchalian.
During the latest public hearing of his bill, Gatchalian described SBN 745 as straightforward bill that calls for the standardization of parking fees across different shopping malls, buildings and other business establishments.
Under Senate Bill 745, the imposition of fees for the use of parking spaces and facilities in shopping malls, hospitals, schools, or other similar establishments, including vacant lots and buildings that are solely devoted for parking slot use, will be regulated to keep prices within reasonable bounds.
“My proposal, Mr. Chair, is to standardize parking fees to ₱40 for the first eight hours, additional ₱10 for the succeeding hours, and an overnight parking fee of ₱100 per vehicle,” the lawmaker said.
The measure also proposes waiver of the parking fee of customers who have purchased at least ₱1,000 worth of goods or services, provided that they have used the parking space for not more than three hours.
SBN 745 also aims to hold establishment owners accountable for loss of property or damage to the customer’s motor vehicle while said vehicle is inside their parking spaces by prohibiting them from invoking a waiver of liability.
The lawmaker from Valenzuela said the bill stemmed from a conversation with a friend, who confided to him that she experienced a crime while she was inside a parking facility
“The owner of the parking facility refused to shoulder any of the damages and any of the hospital billings she incurred because the parking owner invoked the fine print on the parking slip provided upon entry, which states that the parking owner does not have any liability for any incidental losses or damages inside the facility,” Gatchalian said.
“We want to bring the responsibility of these incidences back to the owner of the parking lot, and on top of that, we want to impose fines and penalties if ever any of provision is violated,” he added.
