House Deputy Speaker Erwin Tulfo on Thursday appealed to his colleagues to support the enactment of a bill providing stiffer penalties such as jail term of up to 12 years imprisonment against individuals involved in road rage.
Tulfo, nominee of ACT-CIS party-list group, made the appeal after the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation created a technical working group (TWG) to consolidate several bills (House Bills 1511, 8991, 9140, 9375 and 9559) filed which define and penalize acts of “road rage.”
Tulfo, author of HB 8991 or the proposed “Anti-Road Rage Act” said, any person who engages in road rage, which result to death shall be imprisoned for six to 12 years and a fine not less than P250,000 but not more than P500,000 exclusive of all the damages incurred, at the discretion of the court.
“We will not condone road rage in our streets,” said Tulfo in his sponsorship speech during the committee hearing.
“We are all aware that the consequences of road rage are dire, often resulting in altercations, property damages, assaults, and collisions that cause physical injuries even death” Tulfo also said.
He added, according to Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), a significant portion of the 72,000 road crashes that occurred in Metro Manila in 2022 were linked to road rage.
“Despite all these, there is no existing legislation that imposes penalties on those who exhibit road rage,” Tulfo noted.
Meanwhile, Davao de Oro 2nd District Rep. Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, who also filed a similar bill, the House Bill 9140 also supported the ACT-CIS partylist bill as he recommended the consolidation of the five bills filed regarding road rage.
Both Tulfo and Gonzaga observed how road rage appears to be becoming normal behavior because there is no official regulation that prohibits or punishes those who engage in such acts.
They added that license suspension or revocation remains the sole consequence for a motorist who commit road rage.