ILOILO City – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Region 6 is reminding parents and guardians to prohibit minors – these are children below 18 years old under the Family Code – from driving motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles, or face criminal liability.
Recently, a minor was apprehended for driving a race car on Circumferential Road 1 in Barangay Abilay Sur, Oton, Iloilo.
According to Atty. Gaudioso Geduspan, assistant director of LTO-6, under Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines, minors are not allowed to drive motor vehicles as they are yet not eligible for a driver’s license.
Parents or guardians of minors driving motor vehicles have criminal liability under Presidential Decree Number 603, or The Child And Youth Welfare Code, said Geduspan.
“Article 59 states that crimes or criminal liability shall attach to any parent who: (No. 12) Allows or requires the child to drive without a license or with a license which the parent knows to have been illegally procured. If the motor vehicle driven by the child belongs to the parent, it shall be presumed that he permitted or ordered the child to drive,” part of the code read.
“Two to six months imprisonment sa aton parents kon mabal-an or mapamatud-an nga ginatugtan or gina-require nila ang ila minor nga kabataan nga mag-drive sang motor vehicle,” said Geduspan.
He added: “Diri sa syudad indi ‘na amo ka rampant but if we go out sa mga provincial roads makita naton kis-a kag sa mga banwa nga malayo nga ang mga minor naga-angkasanay pa sila, kis-a tatlo pa.”
Aside from this, Geduspan received reports that some minors were involved in vehicular accidents especially due to over-speeding or them being drunk./PN
