‘Not the time to implement child car seat law’

MANILA, Philippines — A senator close to President Duterte said yesterday that the Chief Executive does not want to implement the child car seat law at this time.

“He does not want to implement this,” Sen. Bong Go said partly in Filipino during the Laging Handa briefing. “It’s not the time to implement this law. Filipinos are already facing so much hardship, let’s not make their lives more difficult.”

Go said there is no reason to implement the law now when the current community quarantine rules still prohibit children from going out of their houses.

The law, which requires children up to age 12 and shorter than 4’11” to use car seats, was supposed to take effect on Tuesday, but the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) agreed to defer its implementation following calls from six senators to postpone its enforcement, citing the lack of guidelines and the financial strain it may cause to the public.

Had it been implemented, violators would have faced a fine of up to P5,000 and suspension of driver’s license.

The LTO said it would not apprehend violators for six months or until around August as it will prioritize educating drivers and parents by distributing flyers regarding the mandatory car seat for children.