Stiffer penalties for overloading of vehicles sought

This photo provided by the Philippine Red Cross Nueva Vizcaya Chapter, volunteers help survivors and retrieve victims from a passenger bus that fell in a ravine killing dozens in Carranglan township, Nueva Ecija province, northern Philippines on Tuesday April 18, 2017. Philippine Red Cross Nueva Vizcaya chapter via AP

Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito is proposing stiffer penalties for overloading of vehicles after an overloaded bus plunged into a ravine in Nueva Ecija on Tuesday, killing at least 32 people.

READ: Bus crash kills 32 in Nueva Ecija

Ejercito said that at present, the law only penalizes overloading with a fine of up to P3,000 and suspension of the certificate of public convenience.

“Republic Act No. 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code is an outdated law which needs to be reviewed. We were able to pass the Speed Limiter Act during the 16th Congress, I think it is high time to pass an amendment with respect to the violation of the prescribed maximum capacity of public utility vehicles,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

The senator said the law was enacted in June 1964 but its corresponding terms and conditions issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) did not provide for a penalty, which corresponds to the possible damage to its passengers.

“What we need are stiffer penalties for overloading. Right now, our law only prescribes for P2,000 and P3,000 and suspension of the certificate of public convenience for 1st and 2nd offense, respectively,” he said.

Ejercito, vice chair of the Senate committee on public services, said the Nueva Ecija bus accident was so tragic that major steps should be taken to revamp the regulations on land transportation.

He said the Senate would take steps to ensure that accidents like these are curbed and prevented from happening again. IDL/rga