BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – This should serve as a warning to riders and motor vehicle owners who are fond of installing unauthorized ear-splitting mufflers.
Mayor Jerry Treñas has expressed his disdain for motor vehicles with modified or unauthorized mufflers that emit ear-shattering noise, especially at night.
Treñas yesterday called on the police and other law enforcement offices to continue the conduct of checkpoints in major streets in the city and apprehend motorcycles and vehicles with modified mufflers.
“These modified mufflers are not allowed under the pertinent ordinances and should be confiscated and destroyed in public. Together, let us declare war on noisy modified mufflers,” said Treñas.
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has set the national standard of 99 decibels as the maximum sound limit based on speed of 2,000 to 2,500 revolutions per minute (rpm), to address noise created by motorcycles and other vehicles.
Motorcycles or motor vehicles with modified or removed mufflers can produce up to 120 decibels, creating a booming sound up to a 15.2-meter distance.
Bike enthusiasts who installed ear-splitting mufflers triggered noise pollution which disrupts the tranquility in the neighborhood and can lead to serious health problems.
In 2023, the Iloilo City Council passed the “Anti-Modified Mufflers Ordinance” prohibiting motorcycle and car enthusiasts from installing modified mufflers.
“The noise pollution on our streets can already be annoying as it is, and it can even get more disrupting and irritating when loud sounds coming from the mufflers of the motor vehicles are added to the mix,” read part of the ordinance.
Under the ordinance, violators will be fined P1,000 for the first offense; P2,000 for the second offense; and P5,000 for the third offense and removal of the modified mufflers.
Treñas wants sticker implementation of the ordinance on modified mufflers.
Likewise, the city mayor also declared “war” on illegally parked vehicles on major streets in the city.
“All improvements, extensions, and additions of national roads are national roads. These are not additional parking areas. These cannot be parking areas at night since these are national roads,” said Treñas.
The mayor said that taxi operators or other individuals are not qualified to use the national roads as their garages.
“The PNP (Philippine National Police), traffic management unit and our barangay tanods may ensure the clearance of these areas. We are also declaring war on illegally parked vehicles everywhere in the city,” the mayor added.
Jeck Conlu, head of the city’s Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO), said they will schedule the destruction of the mufflers they confiscated from violators recently.
In 2016, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian filed Senate Bill 1195, or the Muffler Act of 2016, which seeks to ban motorcycles and all sorts of vehicles, both public and private, from using any modified form of muffler that only serves to make the output louder.
The bill also sets a noise limit for the vehicles, requiring them to be no louder than 70 decibels. The bill exempts vehicles designed for use in sports competitions and motor shows.
Citing a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), Gatchalian noted that “unwanted sound” can affect human health and well-being, including annoyance reaction; sleep disturbance, interference with communication, performance effects, and effects on social behavior.
The WHO said that exposure to noise levels at or above 80 decibels has been medically proven to cause permanent hearing loss.
Noise exposure has also been associated with changes in blood pressure, other cardiovascular changes, problems with the digestive system, and general fatigue.
“Motor vehicles with modified mufflers are very distracting and can cause accidents since they overpower traffic sounds such as automobile horns and traffic enforcer whistles,” said Gatchalian.
He added: “Loud muffler noise agitates drivers as it affects hearing, vision, reaction time, and judgment, thereby increasing the risk of danger for everyone on the road.”/PN
