MANILA – Hefty fines and jail terms will be slapped on those guilty of throwing hard objects at motor vehicles if a House bill gets passed into law.
The House of Representatives has approved on second reading House Bill 7163.
The bill provides that any person who throws stones, rocks, bricks, bottles, pieces of wood or metal, or any other hard object of any kind or character, that damages, ruins, destroys, or wrecks the vehicle or causes death or bodily harm to its passengers shall be penalized.
Among the penalties recommended were:
1) Twenty-five years imprisonment and a fine of P100,000, in addition to civil liabilities if the act results in the death of any person.
2) Five years imprisonment and a fine of P15,000 in addition to civil liabilities for medical expenses and rehabilitation if the act results in any physical injury to a person.
3) One year imprisonment and a fine of P10,000 in addition to the cost of repair of the vehicle.
In filing the bill, Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas (Ilocos Norte, 1st District) cited the “numerous incidents of unscrupulous persons throwing, for whatever reason, hard objects at motor vehicles, particularly public transport plying major thoroughfares.”
These result in accidents, “putting the lives and limbs of passengers and damaging the vehicle itself,” he said. “This practice has to be abated.”
The bill covers all motor vehicles whether in motion or stationary.
Fariñas said authorities are “at a loss” on how to prevent such act.
“At most, the culprits could be dealt with only with the crime of malicious mischief under Article 327 of the Revised Penal Code, punishable by a light penalty,” he said. “Worse, offenders go scot-free, making this hazardous act a habitual pastime.”/PN
