Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Friday, February 13 has called on Congress to fast track the passage of the bill that seeks to protect motor vehicle drivers involved in road accidents but have sufficient proof of their defensive driving.

Ejercito made the call for the passage of Senate Bill No. 338 or the proposed Defensive Driving Protection Act after a motorist was reportedly arrested immediately after he hit a 23-year old student who jumped off the LRT-1 Fernando Poe Jr. station.

“Another driver was automatically arrested and detained after being involved in an unexpected incident at the LRT-1 Fernando Poe Jr. Station. The driver was immediately stripped of the presumption of innocence!” Ejercito lamented.

“In our view, it’s not right to detain anyone who was not negligent or for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our laws should not be a contributor to a string of bad luck,” he said.

“Often, in the desire to find those responsible, reason is set aside,” he pointed out.

Ejercito said such incident is the reason why he filed SB No. 338, saying he believes drivers should be protected against unjust detention and arbitrary cases.

“Due process should be followed and drivers who are also victims should not be immediately imprisoned, especially if they have evidence to prove the accident, such as dashcam or CCTV footage,” the lawmaker stressed.

“It is high time to update our policies which are clearly detrimental to the public,” he said.

Ejercito recalled there have been many incidents were road accidents were caused by reckless and negligent drivers but often result to an unjust situation where the innocent ddrivers are the ones arrested and detained by authorities.

He cited the 2024 Skyway Stage 3 incident in Quezon City where an intoxicated motorcycle rider, who went against traffic flow, collided with an Asian utility vehicle (AUV), and tragically died.

Despite being an obvious victim of the other party’s recklessness, the AUV driver was detained, sparking outrage among the public.

“These incidents persist and will continue to persist, unless we take legislative action,” Ejercito said.

Under the bill, a driver involved in a traffic or road accident can be let off for defensive driving if he or she can present sufficient proof or evidence of his/her innoncence or that he/she was not violating any traffic laws before and during the incident through a dashcam video, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, or any other video footage or still image from other witness.

Ejercito clarified, however, that the bill would not, in any way, exonerate the defensive driver of any liability that may be proven against in a court of law.

“This bill only ensures that innocent drivers are not unfairly penalized,” Ejercito said in the explanatory note of the bill.

In cases where individuals can provide compelling evidence of their innocence or defensive driving, the senator said authorities should swiftly release them.

“By prioritizing the swift release of innocent drivers and conducting thorough investigations, we can establish a more equitable and just system that protects the rights of all parties involved in accidents,” he said.