Republic Act No. 11229 or An Act Providing for the Special Protection of Child Passengers in Motor Vehicles and Appropriating Funds Therefor, declared that it is the policy of the State to ensure the safety of children while being transported in any form of motor vehicle. The State recognizes the right of children to assistance, including proper care and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, and other conditions prejudicial to their development, including exposure to safety risks while aboard motor vehicles.
In order to guarantee the safety and welfare of infants and children and prevent traffic-related deaths and injuries, there is a need to adequately, consistently and objectively require, regulate, promote, and inform the public on the use of child restraint systems in motor vehicles and provide access to safe, appropriate, quality, and affordable child restraint systems in accordance with international standards accepted by the United Nations. Furthermore, there is also a need to study and determine appropriate safety measures for children being transported in public utility vehicles.
Section 4 of RA 11229 provides that it shall be unlawful for the driver of a covered vehicle not to properly secure at all times a child in a child restraint system while the engine is running or transporting such child on any road, street or highway, unless the child is at least one hundred fifty (150) centimeters or fifty-nine (59) inches in height and is properly secured using the regular seatbelt. The child restraint system shall be appropriate to the child’s age, height and weight, and approved in accordance with Section 6 of this Act. The requirements of this section shall not apply to circumstances where the child restraint system would put such child in a greater danger, such as: (1) during medical emergencies; (2) when the child transported has a medical or developmental condition; or (3) other analogous circumstances prescribed under the implementing rules and regulations.
A Child Restraint System refers to a device approved in accordance with Section 6 of this Act, capable of accommodating a child occupant in a sitting or supine position. It is so designed to reduce the risk of injury to the wearer in the event of a collision or of abrupt deceleration of the vehicle by limiting the mobility of the child’s body. Notwithstanding the child being secured in a child restraint system, a child shall not be left unaccompanied by an adult in a motor vehicle.
Section 5 thereof, on the other hand, states that no child twelve (12) years old and below of age shall be allowed to sit in a front seat of a motor vehicle with a running engine or while being transported on any road, street or highway, unless the child meets the height requirement set forth in Section 4 of this Act and is properly secured using the regular seat belt in the front seat.
It is also declared unlawful for any person, company, partnership, sole proprietorship, manufacturer, distributor, and/or importer to manufacture, use, import, sell, distribute, donate, lease, advertise, promote, or otherwise market the use of substandard or expired child restraint systems. (Section 7)
Section 10 of the said law provides for the following penalties:
(a) Any driver in violation of Sections 4 and 5 of this Act shall be fined One Thousand Pesos (₱1,000.00) for the first offense; Two Thousand Pesos (₱2,000.00) for the second offense; Five Thousand Pesos (₱5,000.00) and suspension of the driver’s license for a period of one (1) year for the third and succeeding offenses.
(b) Any manufacturer, distributor, importer, retailer, or seller who violates Sections 6 and 7 of this Act shall be punished with a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Pesos (₱50,000.00) but not more than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (₱100,000.00) for each and every child restraint system product manufactured, distributed, imported and/or sold, without prejudice to other penalties imposed under Republic Act No. 7394 or the “Consumer Act of the Philippines”.
(c) Any driver who allows the use of substandard and/or expired child restraint systems or permits the use of child restraint system that does not bear the PS mark or the ICC sticker and certificate shall be fined One Thousand Pesos (₱1,000.00) for the first offense; Three Thousand Pesos (₱3,000.00) for the second offense; and Five Thousand Pesos (₱5,000.00) and the suspension of the driver’s license for a period of one (1) year for the third and succeeding offenses.
(d) Tampering, alteration, forgery and imitation of the PS mark or the ICC stickers in the child restraint systems shall be punished with a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Pesos (₱50,000.00) but not more than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (₱100,000.00), for each and every child restraint system product, without prejudice to penalties imposed in Republic Act No. 7394 or the “Consumer Act of the Philippines”: Provided, That the DOTr is hereby authorized, after publication, to increase or adjust the fines prescribed in this section once every five (5) years in the amount not exceeding ten per centum (10%) of existing rates.