History was made as 2018 entered its 2nd month. Recently, the House Bill 6938, or otherwise known as "An Act Providing for the Special Protection of Child Passengers in Motor Vehicles" made it to the 2nd reading of the House of Representatives.
What this means is that the country’s motoring industry is now a step closer to achieving its goal of upping motor vehicle safety standards, not just for adults but for kids as well. This is great news, considering that from 2006 to 2016, an average of 671 kids ages 0 to 14 die each year due to road crash (a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority).
Without delving too much into the Bill’s technicalities, it states that all drivers of private vehicles are mandated to equip their cars with child restraint systems good for kids 12 years old and under. This is so kids would be assured of less to no injuries in the event of a road crash.
To celebrate this achievement, a press briefing was recently held in a hotel in Quezon City. Serving as keynote speakers were Mariano Michael Velarde Jr. of BUHAY Party List, Dr. John Julliard Go of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Red Thaddeus Miguel of UP Manila, and Jason Salvador of the Ateneo School of Government.
The speakers discussed about the current initiatives and legislations about road safety, the relevance of road safety in public health and development issues, the affordability and accessibility of child seats in the country, and the results of the focus group tasked to evaluate the feasibility of using child seats in the Philippines.
"We would like to commend the House leadership and thank the legislators for supporting the measure. We are grateful to Congressman Cesar Sarmiento and Congressman Mariano Michael Velarde, Jr for championing the bill and working tirelessly for its immediate approval. Our hats off to them for putting the interest and safety of Filipino children first, not only in mind but in heart," shared Salvador.
As of this writing, the road safety advocate group headed by Senator JV Ejercito (Author of the soon-to-be-passed Senate Bill 1147 or the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act), Cong. Sarmiento, and Cong. Velarde, vowed to never let up on pushing for the eventual improvement of child safety. The mission continues with more actions to take this year.
