Three House lawmakers have filed a bill seeking to criminalize road rage and penalize motorists who exhibited aggressive, hostile, or violatent behavior in traffic or on the roads.
House Bill No. (HBN) 8991 was filed by Representatives Erwin Tulfo, Edvic Yap, Jocelyn Tulfo, Eric Yap, and Ralph Tulfo on August 29.
Under the bill, the three solons cited that rage incidents became prevalent in the country, with some incidents flooding into the news headlines.
They also added that the number of road rage incidents continues to rise as evident in the records of the Metro Manila Development Authority - Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMDA -MMARAS).
Citing the MMDA MMARAS data, the three solons said there are "nearly 72,000 road crashes in Metro Manila in 2022, majority of which are caused not by human or vehicle error."
For this reason, the three solons want the following penalty to be imposed, at the discretion of the court:
- Individual who engages in road range - Six to one year of imprisonment and pay a fine ranging from ₱50,000 to ₱100,000
- In cases resulting in physical injury against another motorist - Two to four years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from ₱100,00 to ₱250,000, exclusive of all the damages incurred.
- In cases resulting in the death of a party - Six to 12 years of imprisonment and a ₱250,000 to ₱500,000 fine, exclusive of all the damages incurred.
- In cases where the offending party in road rage is a government official or employee - perpetual disqualification from government office
Aside from the imprisonment and fine, the involved individual's driver's license shall be revoked and shall not be eligible for a five-year renewal.
Meanwhile, the victims and witnesses in the road rage incident shall receive the necessary protection from the government.
Once the bill is passed into law, the Department of Justice (LTO), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) are directed to compose and promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
The DOJ through its National Prosecution Service (NPS) shall form a unit that will handle road range cases.
