MANILA – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) apprehended over 134,000 motorists in 2024 for failure to wear seatbelts.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the apprehensions resulted in the collection of PHP179.9 million in fines from the violators of Republic Act No. 8750, also known as the seatbelt law.
“This is proof that we are serious in implementing this law. Kung noon ay kaya pang lusutan, ngayon ay hindi na (If they can get away with it before, nowadays they can’t,) especially since we are embarking on an aggressive campaign for the use of seatbelts this year,” Mendoza said in a statement Wednesday.
The LTO-Calabarzon apprehended the highest number of seatbelt law violators at 32,485, followed by LTO-Region 3 at 10,774, and LTO Region VI at 10,270.
Mendoza said the continued campaign against seatbelt law violators would be complemented by “an equally aggressive” information drive to encourage more motorists to use seatbelts.
“Our approach on this matter will be two-pronged: the first is on strict enforcement through the deployment of our enforcers and coordination with other law enforcement agencies. The second one is a massive information drive to make motorists realize the importance of wearing a seatbelt,” he said. (PNA)