"Good Samaritans" or persons who rendered volunteer work during emergencies must be protected by law from reprisal.
With this reasoning, Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre filed in the ongoing 19th Congress House Bill (HB) No.1949, or the proposed “Good Samaritan Act of 2022".
“This will seeks to support individuals who sought to assist during times of emergencies by protecting them from legal liability if their aid was useful and appropriate to the situation’s de-escalation,” the authors said.
The measure has been referred to the Committee on People's Participation.
“With the present number of people within the country, there are bound to be situations where civilian assistance will not only be valuable but necessary to ensuring safety of the populace,” Romualdez and Acidre said.
According to them, there would also be situations “where civilians will have the desire to provide aid to legal channels yet fear the negative repercussions of their actions".
They said the approval of the proposed law “will provide an avenue where both the concerns of civilians and government parties can be put to rest, encouraging the populace to aid in the protection of the nation".
A "good Samaritan” is defined by HB No.1949 as “an individual performing volunteer services who does not receive compensation to reasonably assist a person in an emergency".
On the other hand, “emergency” would refer to “a situation requiring immediate attention and remedial action involving a sudden, unexpected, and impending threat to life, health, or safety of a person".
The bill would protect a good Samaritan for harm caused by an act or omission if:
- The good Samaritan was acting in an emergency at the time of the act or omission;
- If appropriate or required, the good Samaritan was properly licensed, certified or authorized by the appropriate authorities for the activities undertaken in an emergency at the time of the act or omission; and
- The harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the good Samaritan.
The proposed liability protection would not apply to any misconduct that constitutes a crime or was performed under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or any dangerous drug at the time of the good Samaritan’s improper conduct.