Some 800 motorists have been accosted last week for violating the Seat Belt Law, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said yesterday.
Rogelio Estacio, head of the agency's Investigation, Security and Law Enforcement Service-Action Center, revealed that each of these motorists paid a P250 fine.
"According to the Land Transportation Office, there was still resistance among many motorists. We hope they will soon realize that this law is only for their own safety," he said.
Despite this, he added the new law has been implemented smoothly except for the complaints of public utility drivers about hard-headed passengers.
LTO started the partial implementation of Republic Act 8750, or the Seat Belt Law, on May 1 by refusing to accept the registration of vehicles without the device.
Under the law, motorists have until Oct. 31 to install seatbelts. Front seat passengers of vehicles with seatbelts are mandated to wear the device.
Estacio said many drivers are opposed to a provision of the law that makes them liable when their passengers don't or refuse to buckle up.
"Drivers were complaining that they tend to have a fight with passengers when they ask them to make use of the seatbelts. They want the passengers to be penalized, not them," he said.
He, however, expressed confidence that support for the law will increase when the public realizes its importance.
"We can expect reactions like this. Anyway, I have asked my men to put up posters in strategic areas so the public will be informed fully about this law," he added. -- Sheila Crisostomo