By Aerol John Pateña/PNA
MANILA — Imposing stiffer penalties against traffic violators would instill discipline to all road users and make roads safe, an official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.
“Stiff penalties are not meant to punish, but to exact compliance — to cultivate an atmosphere of discipline and concern for the welfare of all road users. Rules and regulations, after all, are designed to bring order to the community for the benefit of majority,” DOTr communications director Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday.
The department made this reaction amid calls by Senator Grace Poe to suspend Joint Administrative Order (JAO) 2014-01, which imposes higher fines against violators of traffic rules and regulations as this can only be implemented through a law passed by Congress.
Libiran said the DOTr intends to protect commuters, pedestrians and drivers by instituting higher penalties for violations that might endanger their lives and security.
“The JAO, therefore, is not meant as a punitive imposition. Rather, it aims to make our roads safer in the interest of the majority,” Libiran said.
Collections from the imposed fines are remitted directly to the National Treasury to fund infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program of the national government, social mitigation measures, and livelihood programs.
Poe has earlier filed Senate Resolution 910, which called for an investigation into the “unjustly harsh” fines and penalties for land transport violations.
