Manila City wants ban on loud mufflers

Guidelines for Anti-Muffler Ordinance has yet to be disclosed

If you happen to own a vehicle with a modified exhaust, you might want to avoid passing through Manila. You could get caught, fined, and your modified exhaust will be removed once this new ordinance is passed.

Councilor Joel T. Villanueva announced that Ordinance No. 8154 has been approved on the third and final reading. Ordinance No. 8154 is officially titled an “Ordinance Regulating The Use of Modified Muffler / Exhaust Pipe and Similar Devices On All Types of Motor Vehicles Resulting to the Emission of Excessive, Loud & Unreasonable Noise in the City of Manila & Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof and For Other Purposes” or the “Anti-Muffler Ordinance” for short.

The full title of Ordinance No. 8154 is quite a mouthful, but it is self-explanatory. Essentially, if you drive with an obnoxiously loud exhaust, you will be fined, and your modified muffler or exhaust will be removed. Per the announcement, the penalties include the following: 1st offense – PHP 1,000 fine and the removal of the muffler, 2nd offense – PHP 3,000 fine and removal of the modified exhaust or muffler, and 3rd offense – PHP 5,000 and removal of modified exhaust and muffler.

According to Villanueva, the ordinance was filed following complaints of residents in the area. Specifically, vehicles with loud and noises exhausts were disturbing the peace and bothering residents. Should it be enforced, it would make the city a more peaceful place.

Ordinance No. 8154 has good intentions, and residents will likely support it. However, we hope the LGU can clarify the short title of “Anti-muffler Ordinance”. For starters, all vehicles come with mufflers and exhaust systems, and it's the part that prevents vehicles from being loud. Remove it, and the vehicle will effectively have a straight pipe, which will be even more obnoxiously loud. It's the same for the penalty of removing the modified muffler. 

There are also no details or guidelines on how the ordinance will be enforced. Will enforcers use a decibel meter or a similar device to check if a car is loud? Furthermore, some cars, especially sports cars and supercars have loud exhausts from the factory. What will they do about those? 

Hopefully, details and guidelines regarding the Anti-Muffler Ordinance will be disclosed before it is signed by Mayor Isko Moreno. We don't need another fly-by-night ordinance without proper details being implemented, which could be open to abuse from enforcers.