THE announcement made by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) on the implementation of RA 11229 otherwise known as “The Child Safety in Motor Vehicle Act” recently, was met by confusion, anger and disbelief by a lot of sector particularly families with children who would benefit greatly from it.
This comes as a surprise, as this landmark piece of legislation was made into a law after it was passed by Congress and then signed by President Duterte on February 22,2019, while the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) was approved on the same year on December 23rd and took effect on February 2020 of last year before the Luzon wide lockdown was implemented.
What is RA 11229 or “The Child Safety in Motor Vehicle Act” by the way? It is the law that mandates the use of age-appropriate and quality child restraint system (CRS) in motor vehicles and prohibits children below 12 years old to sit beside the driver when the vehicle is moving. Violators will face heavy fines if caught with the first offense resulting in P1,000 fine, P2,000 for the second offense and a whopping P5,000 fine if caught for the third time, that will also result in the suspension of the license of the erring driver for a year.
The bill’s principal author then Sen. JV Ejercito cited the telling data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) before the creation of his bill that showed from the period of 2006-2014, road accidents specifically crashes have already claimed the lives of 5,960 children. These figures translate to an average of 662 deaths per year and at least 55 deaths per month and one death per day when figures are broken down.
On the other hand, a World Health Organization (WHO) study on seat belts and child restraints state that the correct installation and usage of car seats can reduce the risk of death for infants by up to 70 percent, and 47 to 54 percent for those aged 1- 4 years old in case of road crash incidents.
As stated in RA 11229, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) will ensure that the provisions on the safety and welfare of infants and children and prevent traffic related deaths and injuries. The law mandates these government agencies to adequately, consistently, and objectively require, regulate, promote, and inform the public on the use child restraint systems in motor vehicles, and regulate the same access to safe, appropriate, quality, and affordable child restraint systems in accordance with the international standards accepted by the United Nations or UN.
The LTO has initially scheduled an Enforcement and Communications Planning Workshop on the implementation of this important legislation on March 19-20 last year. However, it was cancelled due to pandemic and quarantine imposed by the government.
And because of the current situation and until a comprehensive information, education, and communications (IEC) campaign are executed in close coordination with NGOs, CSOs, and agencies such as Philippine Information Agency (PIA), DepEd and DOH, the DOTr and LTO favor the deferment of its implementation in terms of law enforcement or apprehension.
Part of the planned comprehensive information, education, and communication (IEC) campaign, which was put on hold temporarily, regarding the law targets teachers/school officials, children, medical practitioners, and manufacturers/ retailers/importers, among others.
The LTO is currently finalizing enforcement protocols considering that specialize training are needed due to the involvement of children.
Last week, LTO emphasized during an online press briefing, that violators will have no fines for now and will be given a warning as well as information materials about the law. The agency added that imposition of fines and drivers’ demerit points maybe done in three to six months.
Both the DOTr and LTO agree that the deferment of full implementation and enforcement of this new rule is warranted given the current economic situation brought about by the raging Covid-19 pandemic.