EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
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S E N A T E
S. No. 
939
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•If AUG 20 P2:43
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
RECLlj.Ulii.
AN ACT
PRESCRIBING SCHOOL BUS SAFETY STANDARDS AND 
FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
Explanatory Note
It is the objective of the State to promote public safety in the transportation 
of passengers, particularly school children. To achieve this objective, it is essential 
that the State shall prescribe minimum design standards of school buses for the 
safety of its student passengers.
This bill speaks for itself. This bill seeks to prescribe regulations to mitigate 
the effects of vehicular accidents by prescribing safety standards for school buses.
The immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
S E N A T E
S. No. 939
'1» MB 20 P2^3
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT
PRESCRIBING 
SCHOOL 
BUS SAFETY STANDARDS AND 
FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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Section 1. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the "School Bus Safety
Act".
Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policy. -  It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 
promote safety in order to protect passengers of school buses from injury in case of 
accidents.
Sec. 3. Definition o f Terms. -  For purposes of this Act the terms:
a) 
Bus means a motor vehicle, except a trailer, designed for carrying 
more than 10 persons;
b) 
School Bus means a bus that is used for purposes that include carrying 
students to and from public or private school or school-related events on a regular 
basis, but does not include a transit bus or a school-chartered bus;
c) 
School-Chartered Bus means a bus that is operated under a short-term 
contract with the school authorities who have acquired exclusive use of the bus at a 
fixed charge in order to provide transportation for a group of pupils to a special 
school related event; and
d) 
Seats Beits refer to the combined lap belt and shoulder strap that 
fasten a rider to moving vehicle and prevent the rider from being thrown out or 
against the interior of the vehicle during sudden stops.


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Sec. 4. Proficiency Standards for Schooi Bus Drivers. -
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a) 
Requirement -  Not later than one (1) year after the date of enactment
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of this Act, the Department of Transportation shall prescribe proficiency standards
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for school bus drivers who are required to possess a professional license to operate
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a school bus.
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b) 
Demonstration of Proficiency -  Upon the prescription of standards
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under subsection (a), each school bus driver referred to in subsection (a) shall
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demonstrate (at such interval as the Department of Transportation shall prescribe)
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to the employer of the driver, the school, the licensing agency, or other person or
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agency responsible for regulating school bus drivers the proficiency of such driver in
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operating a school bus in accordance with the proficiency standards prescribed
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under subsection (a) or the proficiency standards established by the State
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concerned, as the case may be.
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Sec. 
5. Seat Beits in Schooi Buses. -
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a) 
Requirement for Installation- Not later than one (1) year after the date
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of the enactment of this Act, the Department of Transportation shall prescribe
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regulations requiring driver seat belts and passenger seat belts (including lap safety
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belts or other child safety devices meeting applicable government safety standards)
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for each seating position in any newly-manufactured school bus Owners of school
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buses which are not currently equipped with seat belts shall be given a period of six
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(6) months from the publication of the regulations of this Act to install the necessary
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seat belts in their school buses,
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b) Promotion of Seat Belt Usage-
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1) 
In General- The Department of Transportation, in consultation with
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appropriate safety organizations and parent-teacher organizations, shall conduct a
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program to promote and encourage the use of seat belts in school buses.
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2) 
Elements of Program- In conducting the program required under this
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subsection, the Department of Transportation shall:
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i. 
Encourage the local governments to monitor the mandatory
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usage of seat belts in school buses;
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ii. 
Develop 
and 
disseminate 
educational 
materials 
on 
the
importance of using seat belts to passengers and drivers of school buses; and
iii. 
Recognize schools that achieve a high ievei of seat belt usage
by passengers and drivers of school buses.
Sec. 6. Registration. -  No school bus shall be allowed to be registered unless 
it is equipped with the necessary seat belts.
Sec. 7. Impiementing Authority. -  The Department of Transportation shall be 
primarily responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this Act. For this 
purpose, 
the 
Department 
of Transportation, 
in 
consultation 
with 
relevant 
government agencies and private citizens organizations and stakeholders, shall issue 
within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act the relevant implementing 
rules and regulations.
Sec. 8. Separabiiity Ciause. -  If any provision or part thereof is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected 
shall remain valid and subsisting.
Sec. 9. Repeating Ciause. -  Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary 
to or inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified 
or amended accordingly.
Sec. 10. Effectivity Ciause. -  This Act shaii take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes 
earlier.
Approved.