House bill on road crash victims’ day hurdles 2nd reading

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives approved on second reading on Tuesday a bill setting the third Sunday of November as the National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims.

House Bill No. 4611, which was sponsored by Samar 1st District Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento, was approved through a viva voce vote.

The bill is a consolidated version of HB 698 of Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ria Cristina Fariñas and Probinsyano Ako party-list Rep. Rudy Fariñas and Sarmiento’s HB 4166.

Under the bill commemorative ceremonies would be spearheaded by local government units, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and its attached agencies.

The DOTr would aso partner with the Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH) in conducting forums and conferences advocating road safety and other public awareness campaigns.

Aside from these, a government-backed website and other social media platforms would also be launched for road safety measures, aside from maintaining a database registry of road accident victims.

According to the DOH, road accidents are among the leading causes of death in the Philippines — ranking sixth.

In Metro Manila alone, there were 101,428 road accidents in 2018 — of which 336 resulted in deaths, while 15,520 incidents resulted in non-fatal injuries and 85,572 resulted in damage to property.

A group of lawyers also estimated the losses brought by fatal road crashes every year to P105.7 billion.

RELATED

DID YOU KNOW: 101,428 road accidents in Metro Manila in 2018 https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1078225/did-you-know-101428-road-accidents-in-metro-manila-in-2018

P106B lost to road crashes per year, says road safety group https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1157082/p106b-lost-to-road-crashes-per-year-says-road-safety-group

/atm