Are right-hand cars allowed in the Philippines?

Dear PAO,

My cousin is already a naturalized foreign citizen, but he still comes home to the Philippines almost every year, as he and I, as well as our other cousins, are very close. He told me that he wants to send me his rarely-used car from abroad. But the problem is that it is a right-hand drive car. I have only been driving for two years since I got my license, and the vehicles I have driven and all of the cars I see here in our country are left-hand drives. Will I have a legal problem if I accept his offer?

Ramon

Dear Ramon,

We Filipinos are known for our innate generosity, especially toward our relatives and loved ones. And the same is true even for those Filipinos who have already acquired naturalized foreign citizenship.

While it is a very kind and thoughtful gesture of your cousin to give you his pre-owned vehicle, before you accept his offer, you have to take into account that in our jurisdiction, bringing in, registering, and operating right-hand vehicles is prohibited. The only exceptions to this prohibition are those acknowledged vintage vehicles that have been manufactured before 1960 and are in showroom condition, those to be utilized exclusively for officially and legally sanctioned motorsports events, and off-road special purpose vehicles. This is in consonance with Republic Act (RA) 8506, the «Act banning the registration and operation of vehicles with a right-hand steering wheel on any private or public street, road, or highway.»

Although it is rather an old law, as it was approved on February 13, 1998, RA 8506 is still applicable to this day, as it has neither been repealed nor its provisions amended. For guidance on the matter which you have brought to our attention, Section 1 of RA 8506 explicitly states:

«Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to import, cause the importation of, register, cause the registration of, use, or operate any vehicle with its steering wheel right-hand side thereof in any highway, street or road, whether private or public or of the national or local government except such vehicles that are acknowledged as vintage automobiles, manufactured before 1960, in showroom condition, and/or are to be utilized