Biazon: Not wearing face masks inside vehicles is reckless driving?

Muntinlupa City Representative Rufino Biazon on Wednesday questioned why individuals who are not wearing face masks inside vehicles will be penalized with reckless driving.

At the House Committee on Transportation hearing, Biazon insisted that the penalty of reckless driving "does not contemplate whether your passenger is not wearing a face mask."

"Bakit ang penalty ng hindi pagsuot ng face mask is reckless driving? That's what I heard about, ang magiging violation mo is reckless driving? Ang mape-penalize ba just the driver or even the other occupants?" Biazon asked.

Biazon also cited Section 48 of Republic Act 4136, which states that:

Reckless Driving. – No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any highway recklessly or without reasonable caution considering the width, traffic, grades, crossing, curvatures, visibility and other conditions of the highway and the conditions of the atmosphere and weather, or so as to endanger the property or the safety or rights of any person or so as to cause excessive or unreasonable damage to the highway.

"How can somebody be penalized with a law that is not applicable to that?" Biazon said.

In response, Land Transportation Office chief Edgar Galvante explained that a driver is being reckless if he or she will allow passengers not wearing face masks to ride the vehicle.

"Kung kayo po ay driver eh 'yung kapakanan ng sakay ninyo is kasama po sa dapat niyong gampanan, kaya po ang magiging violation kung sakaling di tumupad, kayo bilang driver, eh unang-una hindi ninyo po dapat payagan, assuming na ang pamantayan po ay dapat lahat magsuot ng mask... Kung 'di po sila magsusuot ng mask, hindi ninyo po dapat isakay," Galvante said.

"Kaya kung kayo po bilang driver, nagsakay kayo ng di sumusunod, eh reckless po na ano 'yun, ang interpretasyon dito eh reckless kayo na inilagay niyo sa alanganin ang inyong pasahero..." he added.

The government maintained its policy of requiring persons inside a vehicle to wear face masks, whether or not they are from the same household.

The guidelines are as follows:

• When traveling alone, the driver may remove his/her face mask; and
• When the driver is with passenger/s, it is mandatory for all individuals inside the vehicle to properly wear a face mask, regardless if they are from the same household.

Galvante said the LTO would follow if they would be directed that not wearing face masks should not be penalized with reckless driving.

"We submit po kung mayroong kautusan na hindi dapat i-consider 'yun bilang reckless driving na violation..." he said. — RSJ, GMA News