FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
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OF THE PHILIF'PWES 
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First Regular Session 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 11, Section 13 states that: 
The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall 
promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well- 
being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage 
their involvement in public and civic affairs. 
In line with this state policy, this bill seeks to protect the physical well-being of Filipino 
children by addressing the problem of road accidents, both in crash and non-crash situations. 
Every year, 1.2 million people die fiom road and traffic injuries. According to studies 
done by the World Health Organization, this figure will rise, making road accidents the third 
leading cause of premature death by 2020. In the Philippines, morbidity and mortality from 
accidents and injuries have steadily increased in the last two decades. Motor vehicle accidents 
cause the deaths of 61 people out of every 100,000. Among children between 5-14 years old, the 
leading cause of death is car accidents. 
In order to address these troubling and ever-increasing statistics, this bill will encourage 
the use of child dummies in crash test programs (1) to better study the impact of car accidents on 
children and (2) for car manufacturers to devise safeguards to protect children riding in 
automobiles. This bill would also urge the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and 
Communication to (1) undertake child safety information programs, (2) data gathering on vehicle 
safety technology, and (3) data-gathering on injuries and deaths in non-traffic, non-crash events.* 
* This bill was originally filed during the Thirteenth Congress, Second Regular Session. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
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OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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16 , i ‘C’, 
First Regular Session 
1 
SENATE 
S.No. 1 7Ih2_ 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO IMPROVE CHILD SAFETY IN MOTOR VEHICLES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Safe Kids in Cars Act of 
2007.” 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 
promote and protect the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being of the 
youth. In pursuance of such goal, the state shall implement car safety programs for children. 
SECTION 3. Incorporation Of Child Dummies In Safety Tests. - 
(A) Review Process Required. - Not later than two (2) years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication 
shall conduct a review process to increase utilization of child dummies, in motor vehicle safety 
tests, including crash tests, conducted by the Department. 
(B) Criteria. - In conducting the review process under paragraph (A), the Secretary shall 
select motor vehicle safety tests in which the inclusion of child dummies will lead to increased 
understanding of crash dynamics with respect to children and measurably improved child safety. 
(C) Public Input. - The Secretary shall solicit and consider input from the public 
regarding the review process under paragraph (A). 
(D) Report. - Not later than one (I) year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall publish a report regarding the implementation of this section. The report shall 
include information regarding the current status of crash test dummies. 


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SECTION 4. Child Safety Information Programs. - 
(A) In General. - Not later than eighteen (18) months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall supplement ongoing consumer information programs relating to 
child safety with information regarding hazards to children in non-traffic, non-crash accident 
situations. 
(B) Activities to Supplement Information. - In supplementing such programs, the 
Secretary shall-- 
(1) Utilize information collected in the database maintained under Section 7 
regarding non-traffic, non-crash injuries, as well as other relevant data from private 
organizations, to establish priorities for the program; 
(2) Address ways in which parents can mitigate dangers to small children arising 
from preventable causes, including backover incidents, hyperthermia in closed vehicles, 
and accidental activation of power windows; 
(3) Partner with national child safety research organizations and other interested 
organizations with respect to the delivery of program information; and 
(4) Make information related to child safety available to the public via the Internet 
and other means. 
SECTION 5. Report on Vehicle Visibility. -Not later than two (2) years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the extent to which 
driver visibility of the area immediately surrounding light passenger vehicles and obstructions to 
such visibility affect pedestrian safety, including the safety of infants and small children, in non- 
traffic, non-crash situations. 
SECTION 6. Report on Enhanced Vehicle Safety Technologies. -Not later than eighteen 
(18) months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report that describes, evaluates, and determines the relative effectiveness of-- 
(A) Currently available and emerging technologies, including auto-reverse functions, that 
are designed to prevent and reduce the number of injuries and deaths to children left 
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unattended inside parked motor vehicles, including injuries and deaths that result 
from hyperthermia or are related to power windows or power sunroofs; and 
(B) Currently available and emerging technologies that are designed to prevent deaths 
and injuries to small children resulting from vehicle blind spots and backover 
incidents. 
SECTION 7. Database on Injuries and Deaths in Non-traf$c, Non-crash Events. - 
(A) In General. - The Secretary shall maintain a database of, and regularly collect data 
regarding, injuries and deaths in non-traffic, non-crash events involving motor vehicles. The 
database shall include information regarding-- 
(1) The number, types, and proximate causes of injuries and deaths resulting from 
such events; 
(2) The characteristics of motor vehicles involved in such events; 
(3) The characteristics of the motor vehicle operators and victims involved in such 
events; and 
(4) The presence or absence in motor vehicles involved in such events of 
advanced technologies designed to prevent such injuries and deaths. 
(B)Regulations. - The Secretary shall prescribe regulations regarding how to structure 
and compile the database. The Secretary shall solicit and consider input from the public 
regarding data collection procedures and the structure of the database maintained under 
paragraph (A). 
(C) Deadlines. - The Secretary shall-- 
(1) Complete the prescription of regulations and the consideration of public input 
under paragraph (B) not later than September 1,2006; and 
(2) Commence the collection of data under paragraph (1) not later than January 1, 
of the year following the promulgation of this Act. 
(D) Availability. - The Secretary shall make the database maintained under paragraph (A) 
available to the public. 
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SECTION 8. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law of the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, or inconsistent 
with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly. 
SECTION 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
JPS/5-23-05 
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