Party-list solons want insurance for train passengers

Two party-list lawmakers have filed a bill at the House of Representatives urging the government to provide accident and life insurance coverage to the passengers of the country's railway transits. A TEACHER party-list Reps. Julieta Cortuna and Mariano Piamonte Jr. filed last week House Bill 3945 proposing mandatory insurance coverage for passengers of the country’s public railway systems. “It is not enough that the government promises to shoulder the expenses of the unfortunate victims of accidents inside trains and railway premises. It is better to make the public feel secure knowing that they are insured in case something happens to them," the bill read. The lawmakers made this call after more than 20 passengers were hurt in a series of accidents in Metro Rail Transit (MRT) stations last week, including an escalator accident last Tuesday and a brake failure on Thursday. The accidents came weeks before the government was scheduled to impose a fare hike for the MRT and Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems, which will raise the minimum fare from P10 to P15 starting on March 1 this year. While she sees “no problem" with the fare hike, Cortuna said the government should also make sure that train passengers are properly insured once they board public railway systems. Based on the measure, railway companies will be tasked to pay insurance premiums to a private insurance company chosen by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) through public bidding. The insurance payment will come from the railway company’s gross income and shall be considered as a tax credit in favor of the its corporate income tax liabilities for the following fiscal year, the bill added. If the bill will be passed into law, train passengers who will be injured due to accidents in the railway systems will be entitled to hospitalization benefits of P1,500 per day. The bill also proposes a death benefit of P200,000 for the family of the fatalities in public rail transit accidents. The measure is still awaiting first reading at the House of Representatives. – VVP, GMANews.TV