Fair traffic apprehension law okayed

The House Committee on Transportation on Monday approved a bill that aims to sanction erring traffic enforcers who apprehend motorists for unfair traffic violations.

The bill, or the proposed “Fair Traffic Apprehension Act,” is designed to promote fair traffic apprehension by compensating motorists found to be wrongfully apprehended and imposing administrative charges against traffic personnel.

The Land Transportation Office estimated that roughly 529,578 motorists were apprehended for traffic violations across the country last year, slightly higher than the 517,319 in 2022.

One of the provisions of the proposed law seeks to allow motorists or any person present in the venue to record or livestream the apprehension proceedings.

1-Rider Partylist Rep. Bonficio Bosita, the bill’s proponent, said documentation is needed to promote transparency and ensure that apprehension proceedings would be free of coercion and intimidation.

“Most of the times, motorists have experienced being bullied or threatened by the police or apprehending enforcers. There are many cases of that, and we can prove that,” Bosita said.

However, panel members expressed concern that recording the apprehension procedure and posting to social media would promote premature public judgment, with others splicing or altering the footage for content purposes, which could mislead viewers.

The bill, which was approved subject to amendments and style, aims to reasonably compensate, at least financially, the incidental expenses incurred and damages suffered by the drivers of improper traffic apprehension while providing the guidelines for establishing the same.