Pasay City has ordered that noisy tailpipes—those that are intentionally made or altered to emit a loud sound—are not allowed on motor vehicles, both private and for public transport, plying the streets of the city.
Such exhaust outlets have recently become widely used on motorcycles and tricycles, the city government said in a statement.
Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano reminded Pasayenos and the general public that noisy tailpipes are prohibited in the city under Ordinance 6009, the Anti-Modified Tail Pipe Ordinance enacted last June.
The measure defines modified tailpipes as “an alteration, replacement or removal of the original tailpipe or muffler/silencer or parts thereof, of a motorcycle and tricycle.”
Penalties for violation of the Ordinance range from a fine of P2,000 for the first offense, up to, for the 3rd offense, a fine of P4,000, cancellation of Driver’s License, and cancellation of franchise of the transport business.
Mufflers or silencers were developed as part of the exhaust gas system of vehicles to reduce the noise of their engines. But over the years, a number of vehicle owners have been removing these mufflers or modifying their vehicles’ exhaust system to make their engines emit various loud sounds.
Ordinance 6009 states: “Excessive noise is a serious hazard to the public health and welfare, and that, exposure to certain levels of noise can result in physiological, psychological, and economic damage.”
“Any sound becomes unwanted when it either interferes with normal activities such as sleeping, conversation, or disrupts or diminishes one’s quality life,” the ordinance adds.
Mayor Rubiano said: “We Pasayenos are entitled to a .peaceful and quiet environment without the intrusion of noise which may be hazardous to our health and welfare.”
The ordinance declares that no driver of any kind of motor vehicles “including motorcycles and tricycles shall operate, or permit the operation for private and public use of said vehicle, whose tailpipe has been altered from its original configuration either through the removal or modification of the silencer/muffler system, or replacement of the whole or any component of its tailpipe system, resulting in emissions beyond the acceptable standard of ambient noise in our residential, commercial and industrial communities.”