Who will enforce clean air, seat belt laws?

A transport official warned yesterday that the Clean Air Act and the Seat Belt Law will eventually die natural deaths due to lack of government personnel who will implement these laws.

The official said there is not enough manpower to enforce these laws as far as the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the agency tasked to lead the implementation, is concerned.

The source noted that in Metro Manila, LTO has only 52 enforcers to oversee some 1.5 million motor vehicles.

"The LTO was given a lot of work but its manpower has not been augmented. There are other agencies that help in the monitoring activities, but LTO as the lead agency should always be on top of everything," he added.

The Clean Air Act will be fully implemented in June but the government has already started its anti-smoke belching campaign.

On Nov.1, the Seat Belt Law will be fully enforced in all motor vehicles.

The source said it will not be enough that the LTO would be backed by the Metro Manila Development Authority and PNP-Traffic Management Group in the implementation. "I think it will be good for these campaigns if the LTO can stand on its own. The public might not take these seriously if the lead agency, itself, is weak," the official added.

This developed as the LTO announced yesterday that it does not endorse any manufacturers or distributors of the devices.

The statement was made in response to the allegations of transport groups that the Seat Belt Law will only breed corruption in the LTO.

Lawyer Rolando Lansang, head of LTO's Law Enforcement Service, said that during the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Seat Belt Law, they came up only with the specifications of the seatbelts that motorists can use.

"We don't endorse any seatbelt suppliers. We just want our motorists to know that there are types of seatbelts that they have to follow and it is up to them where they want to buy these," he maintained.

Efren de Luna, head of the Philippine Confederation of Drivers' Organizations-Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (PCDO-ACTO), expressed fears that the law will only be a tool for some LTO officials to enrich themselves.

De Luna added the distribution of the seatbelts should not be monopolized by any company for the law to succeed.