"Anti-kamote Driving" bill aims to protect drivers from wrongful detention

Lawmakers file Defensive Driving Act of 2024 in Congress

Driving in the Philippines is probably one of the most challenging in the world, not because our roads are bad, but because a mishap with another driver, motorcycle rider, cyclist, or pedestrian could mean instant jail time even if you are not at fault. When there are injuries or death, the driver or drivers involved -even if appearing to be innocent- are detained (a.k.a. arrested) by police officers (property damage may also be a crime, but generally the parties just resolve it between themselves).

The most obvious assumption in a vehicle accident is that the driver may be at fault or have something to do with the injuries or death. A police officer may perform a warrantless arrest if an offense is committed before him or her (e.g, the accident happened in the officer’s presence) or the officer has probable cause to believe, based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances, that the person to be arrested committed the crime. Personal knowledge does not require actually seeing the accident happen. Rather, an officer will make the conclusion based on what he or she sees, hears, or perceives in the accident site upon arriving there soon after the accident happened.

That may soon change as House Bill (HB) 10679 or the Defensive Driving Act of 2024 is filed in Congress by representatives Margarita Nograles of PBA Party List and Cheeno Almario of Davao Oriental.

The full text of HB 10679 can be viewed here.

"Anti-kamote Driving" bill

Dubbed as the "Anti-kamote Driving" bill, HB 10679 seeks to prohibit the detention of the “person driving a motor vehicle” involved in a traffic incident, provided that he or she can provide proof that he or she is not at fault.

The proof can be a recording from a dashcam, CCTV, or other video footage or still images from any witness in the vicinity of the incident showing that the driver of the vehicle was not violating any traffic rules before and during the incident.

In their explanatory note, the representatives cite as an example the incident that happened on March 2024, where an alleged drunk motorcycle rider went up while counterflowing to Skyway Stage 3 Balintawak off-ramp until he collided with an oncoming vehicle. The rider died from his injuries at the hospital and the involved driver was detained by the responding police.

A similar bill was filed in 2019, but was not passed into law. House Bill 1987 or the 'Philippine Responsible Driving and Accountability Act' was filed by then Iligan City Representative (now Mayor) Frederick Siao. HB 1987 also intends to update the country's road safety laws and laws on criminal, civil, and administrative culpability and liability of drivers involved in traffic violations/road safety incidents.