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FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
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OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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SENATE 
S. No. 
1 B33 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Attention concerning motor vehicles and child safety has almost always been focused 
largely on protecting children as occupants transported in traffic on public roads. However, 
children who are unattended in or around motor vehicles that are not in traffic also are at 
increased risk for injury and death. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the 
and Trauma Foundation, a nonprofit organization, examined data from two databases on both 
nonfatal and fatal nontraffic motor vehicle-related incidents and found out that there is an 
estimated 9,160 nonfatal injuries and 78 fatal injuries among children aged 8 years and below 
who were left unattended in or around motor vehicles that were not in traffic. This finding 
highlights a major cause of childhood death and injury, and underscores the need for effective 
intervention by the State. 
This bill seeks to ensure the protection of children by penalizing the act of leaving them 
unattended in motor vehicles under certain circumstances. 1 
1 This bill was originally filed in the Thirteenth Congress, Third Regular Session. 
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FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
PROHIBITING THE LEAVING OF CHILDREN 
UNATTENDED INSIDE MOTOR VEHICLES 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines In 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall he known as the "Unattended Children in 
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Motor Vehicles Safety Act." 
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SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to promote the general 
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welfare of the people. Pursuant to this policy, this Act seeks to ensure the protection of children 
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by penalizing the act of leaving them unattended in motor vehicles under certain circumstances. 
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SECTION 3. Leaving Children Unattended in Motor Vehicles. -A parent, legal guardian, 
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or other person responsible for a child or children who is or are eight (8) years of age or younger 
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shall not leave such child or children inside a motor vehicle without supervision by a person who 
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is fourteen (14) years of age or older under one or more of the following circumstances: 
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(A) Under conditions presenting a significant risk to the child's health or safety; 
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(B) The engine of the motor vehicle is running; or 
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(e) The keys to the motor vehicle are anywhere in the passenger compartment of the 
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motor vehicle. 
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SECTION 4. Penalties. - Any person found guilty of violating the provisions of the 
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preceding section shall be punished with a fine of not more than Five Thousand Pesos 
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(P5,000.00). 
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A second violation of the provisions of the preceding section within five (5) years, or any 
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subsequent violation, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Pesos 
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(Pl0,OOOO.OO), or a penalty of imprisonment of arresto mayor, or both, at the discretion of the 
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court, taking into consideration all attending circumstances. 
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SECTION 5. Separability Clause. - If any provision, or part hereof, is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 6. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instmction, administrative order, mle or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with the provisions of this act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 7. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
lOin at least two (2) newspapers o€ general circulation 
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Approved, 
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IptmtOljuly2010 
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