ANOTHER bill has been filed in the House of Representatives following a deadly crash between a motorcycle that counter-flowed and collided head-on with a Toyota Innova.
The second proposed Philippine Responsible Driving and Accountability Act was filed by Bukidnon Second District Rep. Jonathan Keith “Atty. John” Flores.
But unlike the earlier bill filed by 4Ps Party-list Rep. JC Abalos, the Flores bill, HB 10196, is a much shorter version and has some differences with Abalos’ HB 10128 on a section about presumption of liability or culpability.
In his explanatory note, Rep. Flores said he filed HB 10196 to address the “broad and mistaken application” of provisions of the Revised Penal Code on reckless imprudence and a part of the Civil Code of the Philippines.
He pointed out that concerning vehicular mishaps, Article 2185 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides that “Unless there is proof to the contrary, it is presumed that a person driving a motor vehicle has been negligent if, at the time of the mishap, he was violating any traffic regulation.”
“Unfortunately, the broad and sometimes mistaken application of this and related presumption has resulted in drivers or motorists in road safety incidents being immediately presumed to be at fault even when there are indications that the pedestrians and/or other motorists involved are at fault or are guilty of contributory negligence,” Flores, a lawyer and Vice-Chair of House Justice Committee, lamented.
“This bill aims to clarify the presumptions that are applicable in road safety incidents or vehicular mishaps to protect law-abiding persons from misapplied presumptions, as well as to identify the proper persons in authority that should make the initial assessment of the proper application of these presumptions,” Flores added.
He also said the clarifications “have long been overdue and have been sought by both the motoring public and the law enforcers implementing our traffic laws and regulations.”
In contrast, the longer bill, HB 10196, is a version of similar bills filed by two former congressmen, Harlin Neil Abayon III (HB 6925) and Frederick Siao (HB 1987) who is now Iligan City Mayor.
In a recent Facebook post written in the Cebuano dialect in Northern Mindanao, Siao thanked the public for renewed interest in the HB 1987 he filed when he was Iligan City’s congressman.
Siao said HB 1987 was meant to protect innocent drivers involved in road crashes.
There are five other bills in the House about drunk and drugged driving, and driver’s license renewal.
