The National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are reviewing police traffic procedures after a driver nearly faced criminal charges for running over a student who fell from the platform of a Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) station in Quezon City last week.

“We really need to review our police traffic procedures to avoid absurd results. How can there be reckless imprudence resulting in homicide if the ultimate fact is that the person fell from the sky?” Napolcom vice chairperson Rafael Vicente Calinisan told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

“Any lawyer worth his salt would agree that no amount of due diligence could have prevented that type of incident,” Calinisan said, pointing out that police traffic procedures do not automatically require an arrest in all fatal accidents.

“There is nothing written that says an arrest is mandatory, so that is what needs to be clarified and properly laid out in the new manual to guide our police,” Calinisan said.

He explained that police officers often resort to arrests to avoid facing charges of grave misconduct or grave negligence themselves when traffic accidents result in fatalities.

Depriving a clearly innocent person of liberty under the guise of standard procedure is contrary to the tenets of justice, he added.

Two routes

Calinisan clarified that when motorists are involved in accidents resulting in death, the driver may either undergo inquest proceedings or face regular criminal charges.

“To be clear, one option is to arrest the driver and bring the case to the prosecutor through an inquest. The second is to release the driver and file a regular case later if the evidence is unclear, or if there is no negligence,” he said.

The driver involved in the LRT incident was released a day after the incident.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said that after a thorough investigation and review of closed-circuit television footage, there was no apparent indication of negligence on the part of the driver.

The driver cooperated with authorities and was initially placed under police custody in accordance with the standard operating procedures of the PNP, as the incident involved a fatality.

Police said this was part of the investigative process to ensure proper documentation and compliance with legal requirements.

“Moreover, the father executed a notarized letter manifesting that he is not pursuing a complaint against the driver. Thereafter, the driver was released from the custody of Traffic Sector 6,” the QCPD said in a statement.

JV bill

“This should already be filtered on the ground. What we are discussing now is how to control that discretion,” Calinisan said.

Meanwhile, Senator JV Ejercito called for the urgent passage of the Defensive Driving Protection Act, which seeks to protect innocent motorists from immediate imprisonment following road accidents.

Calinisan said he supports the proposed measure, noting that the law would provide clearer guidance on police traffic procedures.

Remedial measure

In his explanatory note, Ejercito cited data showing a 35 percent increase in road accident fatalities in 2024 compared to 2023.

Of the 27,248 recorded road accidents, 87.17 percent were attributed to reckless driving, including improper overtaking and turning, speeding, drunk driving, overloading, and the use of mobile phones while driving.

Ejercito said such incidents often lead to situations where innocent drivers are arrested and detained, particularly when the at-fault party is killed or seriously injured.

“Road accidents caused by reckless and negligent drivers often result in an unjust situation where innocent drivers are arrested and detained by authorities when the at-fault drivers have been killed or seriously injured due to their own negligence,” he explained.

He then cited a 2024 incident along Skyway Stage 3, where an intoxicated motorcycle rider traveling against traffic collided with an oncoming Asian Utility Vehicle.

Offer of proof

The rider later died from his injuries, while the AUV driver was detained despite claims that he was not at fault.

Under the proposed measure, a driver involved in a road accident who can present sufficient proof of defensive driving — such as dashcam footage, closed-circuit television recordings, or other video or still images from witnesses — may be protected from arrest and detention.

The bill clarifies that the proposed protection does not automatically absolve a driver of civil or criminal liability.

Instead, it aims to prevent the immediate arrest or detention of individuals who can show evidence that they were complying with traffic laws before and during the incident.