Republic of the Philippines /
House of Representatives
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

H.B. NO. 929

Introduced By: HON. IRWIN C. TIENG, HON. MARIANO MICHAEL M.
VELARDE and HON. JOSE L. ATIENZA, JR.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In the early moming hours last October 21, 2008, Dr. Francisco “Toto” Sarabia
was driving his car along the North Bound lane of EDSA, near Santolan Road
when his vehicle was rammed by a speeding Joanna Jesh Transport bus. The
bus was reportedly racing with another Joanna Jesh Transport bus in an
apparent bid to beat the later to the bus stop in order to be first in picking up
passengers waiting of their ride.

Dr. Sarabia’s car violently spun several times. Dr. Sarabia's companion was
pulled-out of the wreck by bystanders before the vehicle burst into flames and
exploded. It took the attending emergency personnel around fifteen minutes.
before they were able to put out the fire and recover Dr. Sarabia's charred
remains.

The driver of the bus, Martinito Madrid, who later surrendered, admitted having
figured in another accident just this April 2008, which accident resulted to injuries
to a number of individuals. According to news reports, however, Madrid was
involved in no less than seven (7) traffic accidents before the fatal incident which
killed Dr. Sarabia.

Subsequent to the death of Dr. Sarabia, many more lives have been lost at
EDSA and at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and elsewhere due to
speeding trucks and buses driven by reckless drivers.

Enough is enough! Too many lives have been claimed and too many dreams
have been extinguished already by reckless, senseless drivers, often times
driving hulking public utility buses (PUBs), container trucks, passenger vans,
taxis and jeepneys, in wanton disregard of the safety and well-being of others on
the road. Itis time to hold these drivers accountable their acts of putting the lives
and limbs of fellow drivers, passengers and commuters in harm's way.

Likewise, the operators and/or owners of these offending vehicles have to be
made directly responsible for any damages, prejudice and injuries which may be
caused by their wayward drivers in their employ in order to compel them to
exercise extra-ordinary diligence in the selection and supervision of said drivers.

To date, however, reckless driving has not been defined as a crime in the statute
books but is only penalized as a quasi-offense under Article 365 of the Revised


Penal Code as reckless imprudence resulting to homicide, physical injuries and
damage to property.

This bill seeks to define reckless driving in itself as a criminal offense and to
provide stiffer penalties for its commission. Likewise, the bill makes the owner
and/or operator of the offending vehicle principally and directly liable for the
damage, injury and/or prejudice resulting from the incident unless they can show
that they exercised extra-ordinary diligence in the selection and supervision of
their drivers,

When passed into law, this bill will work to deter this pernicious practice or at the
very least, keep reckless drivers away from our thoroughfares.

The immediate passage of this bill is most eamestly requested

WIN C. TIE! MARIANO MICHAEL M. VELARDE

JOSE L. ATIENZA, JR.


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
QUEZON CITY

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

H.B. NO. 929

Introduced By: HON. IRWIN C. TIENG, HON. MARIANO MICHAEL M.
VELARDE and HON. JOSE L. ATIENZA, JR.

AN ACT
DEFINING THE OFFENSE OF RECKLESS DRIVING AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES FOR THE COMMISSION THEREOF AND FOR OTHER RELATED
PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and Senate in Congress
assembled:

Section 1. Declaration and State Policy. ~ \t is hereby declared that act
of driving recklessly is pernicious to public interest. Hence, it is the policy of the
State to consider the same as a criminal offense and to severely penalize the
same.

Section 2. Definition. — Any person who is in control of any vehicle
traveling upon a highway, or upon public or private property open to public use,
drives the same carelessly, imprudently and heedlessly or without due caution
and circumspection, or at a speed or in a manner as to endanger or be likely to
endanger any person or property, or who passes when there is a prohibition
against passing, shall be guilty of reckless driving and upon conviction shall be
punished as provided in Section Three (3) hereof;

Section 3. Penalties. - Any person found to be guilty of reckless driving
shall be subjected to a penalty of imprisonment from one (1) month to six (6)
months and/or a fine of Ten Thousand Pesos (PhP 10,000.00) or both.

In case the offender's act results to slight physical injuries to any party, the
penalty imposable shall be imprisonment of six (6) months and one (1) day to two
(2) years plus a fine of Twenty Thousand Pesos (PhP 20,000.00)

In case the offender's act results to less serious physical injuries to any
party, the penalty imposable shall be imprisonment of two (2) years and one (1)
day to four (4) years plus a fine of Forty Thousand Pesos (PhP 50,000.00).

In case the offender's act results to serious physical injuries to any party,
penalty imposable shall be imprisonment of four (4) years and one day to six (6)
years plus a fine of Eighty Thousand Pesos (PhP 80,000.00).

In case the offender's act results to the death, permanent injury or
mutilation of any body part of any party, the penalty imposable shall be
imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years plus a fine of
One Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP 100,000.00).


When the execution of the act covered by this article shall have only
resulted in damage to the property of another, the offender shall be punished by
imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years and/or a fine ranging from an
amount equal to the value of said damages to three times such value, but which
shalll in no case be less than Ten Thousand Pesos (PhP 10,000.00).

The trial court shall also award the actual and compensatory damages to
the victims, based on the evidence presented and pursuant to existing rules and
jurisprudence.

‘Any government official or employee, who by neglect or connivance, has
in any manner aided or abetted in the violation or circumvention of the provisions
of this Act, shall be held criminally liable as co-principal under this section and
shall, in addition, suffer the penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification to hold
public office.

Section 4. Direct liability of Operator and/or Owner of the offending
vehicle.  - The owner and/or operator of the vehicle driven by the offender
shall be directly and principally liable together with the offender for the fine and
the award against the offender for civil damages unless he or she is able to
convincingly prove that he or she has exercised extra-ordinary diligence in the
selection and supervision of his or her drivers in general and the offending driver
in particular.

This rule shall principally apply to the owners and/or operators of public
utility vehicles, commercial vehicles like delivery vans, cargo trucks, freight
trucks, container trucks, etc., as well as school and company buses, hotel
transports, car or vans for rent, taxi cabs, etc.

In any case, the subsidiary liability of the owner and/or operator of the
vehicle driven by the offending driver shall remain.

Section 5. Repeated offenders. - In case a person is found guilty of
reckless driving for two (2) or more times committed within a period of five (5)
years, the same shall be a ground for the permanent revocation of his license by
the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

Section 6. Severability. - If any provision of this Act or the applicability
of such provision to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the validity
of the other provisions of this Act and the applicability of such provisions to other
persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Section 7. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive issuances, orders
and rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with this Act, or any part
thereof, are hereby repealed, amended and/or modified accordingly

Section 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect upon its approval and
upon publication in the Official Gazette and two (2) newspapers of general
circulation in the country.

Approved,