AUTHORITIES have banned hanging rosaries and religious icons off car dashboards because of safety concerns, prompting an outcry from the Catholic Church, which insists they offer divine intervention on the nation’s chaotic roads.
The ban, which will take effect on Friday, is part of a wide-ranging new law aimed at eliminating distractions for drivers.
These include talking or sending messages or using navigational aids on mobile phones, putting on make-up, and eating or drinking coffee while driving, said Aileen Lizada, spokeswoman for the national transport regulatory agency.
But it is the ban on the religious icons and trinkets—which visitors to the Philippines inevitably see hanging off rearview mirrors in taxis and jeepneys—that has stirred the most controversy.
Roughly 80 percent of the Philippines’ 100 million people are Catholic, a legacy of centuries of Spanish colonial rule that ended in 1898, and the religious icons in vehicles are seen by many as offering God’s protection while driving.
“This is an overreaction, insensitive and lacks common sense,” Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary for public affairs at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said Monday.
“With these religious images, drivers feel they are safer, that there is divine intervention and they are being guided and protected.”
Piston, an association of jeepney drivers and owners, also criticized the plan, saying there was no data showing rosaries and religious trinkets caused accidents.
“Do not meddle with the drivers’ faith in God,” Piston president George San Mateo said.
Senator JV Ejercito urged the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Office to temporarily suspend the enforcement of the Anti-Distracted Driving Act until confusion about the law’s implementing rules and regulations is ironed out.
“Looks like their officials did not understand the essence of the Anti-Distracted Driving Act. They have made matters complicated, when it is basically just about banning the use of cellphones while driving,” said Ejercito, vice chairman of the Senate public services committee.
Ejercito added that cellphones when used for navigational purposes should be permitted to aid motorists to steer clear of heavy traffic.
He said a ban on attaching phones with navigational applications onto the dashboard made no sense.
“It is counter-intuitive when using Waze or other navigation apps since the use of the cell phone is less dangerous if it is within the line of sight. Every second that the driver’s eyes are on the road counts. It’s more dangerous if they have to bend [to look at the map],” he said.
For this reason, Ejercito said the Transportation Department should reconsider the strict provisions against placing cellphones within the line of sight of drivers.
“We rarely hear of road accidents that result from the use of navigational apps. Definitely, texting and tinkering with a mobile phone while driving is a no-no. But when it is used as a navigational aid and it is properly placed, it is okay,” he said.
LTO chief assistant secretary Edgar Galvante, meanwhile, urged the codification of laws related to the Anti-Distracted Driving Act to avoid confusion among motorists.
“What is being banned is the use of electronic devices where the driver might lose his focus while driving when he is using the gadget. This is being done so that accidents will be prevented. Sometimes accidents might even be tragic. That is why the government has implemented stricter measures,” Galvante said during Monday’s Samahang Plaridel, Kapihan sa Manila Hotel.
Galvante noted that there are other laws where it is unlawful to place objects on top of the dashboard of a vehicle where the line of sight of the driver is distracted.