Senate President Manny Villar has refiled the bill that seeks to grant protection to buyers of motor vehicles turning out to be "lemons" or defective, a press release from his office said.

Villar had filed Senate Bill 89 or the Lemon Law entitled, "An Act providing protection and remedies to buyers of new and used motor vehicles." The Senate ratified the conference committee report on the measure shortly before the 13th Congress adjourned, with the House failing to follow suit.

Then consolidated Senate Bill 2464 was principally authored by Villar (SB 775) along with Senators Aquilino Pimentel (SB 1812) and Miriam Defensor-Santiago (SB 2445). Under the measure, Villar said that if a car turns out to be defective, the buyer will be able to get a full refund or replacement.

A motor vehicle is considered to be a "lemon" if it is unfit, unreliable or unsafe for ordinary use, the press release said.

Under the lemon law, a car is a "lemon" if during the lemon law rights period, the car: has been subjected to repair three or more times yet the same non-conformity continues to exist; the non-conformity is a serious safety defect; is out of service due to repair for a cumulative total of 30 calendar days.

"We hope this bill finally makes it in the 14th Congress to ensure the protection of all ar buyers in the country in the interest of fair trade," Villar said in the press release.*

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