MMDA, LTO, PNP-HPG, private sector join forces for strict implementation of anti-drunk driving law

MANILA – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has partnered with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the PNP Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG), LGU traffic enforcement units and the private sector to strictly implement the anti-drunk driving law in order to maintain road safety in Metro Manila.

The initiative known as the Partnership for Road Safety was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Thursday at the MMDA office in Makati City.

The project seeks to help ensure the enforcement of the anti-drunk and drugged driving law in Metro Manila and establish the system for its adoption, implementation and monitoring at the local government units (LGUs).

Among its objectives are: deployment of 500 MMDA enforcers deputized by LTO; develop and promote the adoption of the drunk driving law in 17 LGUs and create public awareness on the law.

It aims to conduct 12 batches of deputation training of MMDA enforcers until June 2017; approval of resolution for the adoption of the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Law at the local level; work for the purchase of alcohol breath analyzers; establish coordination with LTO and HPG for apprehension of operations and establish partnerships for the promotion of anti-drunk driving campaign.

"The MMDA is the only agency which functions within the bounds of its mandated functions and limited resources. It needs the help of partners who can collaborate towards the attainment of ensuring that the roads of Metro Manila are safe and that road crashes are substantially reduced," former MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez said in her address during the event.

Jimenez appealed to the mayors of 17 LGUs in Metro Manila to train their respective traffic management enforcers in support of the program and reiterated that its full implementation relies on the 500 MMDA traffic enforcers that will be deployed on major roads in the metropolis.

For his part, LTO chief Asec. Edgar Galvente hopes that the agency would be able to acquire more breath analyzers with the support of the private sector. He stated that the campaign against drunk driving is being hampered by the lack of sufficient procurement of alcohol breath analyzers (ABAs) and lack of trained law enforcement officers. Thus, road accidents which are caused by drunk driving are not recorded because there is no available ABA at the time of apprehension.

Meanwhile, MMDA Chairman Thomas Orbos expressed his gratitude for being deputized as the lead agency in the intensified campaign against illegal drunk driving. He assured that the MMDA will do its efforts in preventing road accidents especially for the upcoming holiday season.

"We have coordinated with the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic and the private sector to prevent accidents caused by drunk driving for the Christmas season," Orbos said in an interview with reporters.

Republic Act No.10586 otherwise known as the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 penalizes persons driving under the influence of alcohol, dangerous drugs and other intoxicating substances. It also inculcates the standards of safe driving and the benefits that may be derived from it through institutional programs and appropriate public information strategies.

Violators of the said act will have their motor vehicles flagged down if they show signs of intoxication such as overspeeding, lane straddling, making sudden stops, swerving, among others. They will undergo field sobriety test and breath analyzer test. The driver will be arrested and have their vehicle impounded if they failed the tests.

Early last year, former MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino announced that he wants a strict implementation of the law against drunk driving in Metro Manila. The MMDA has sufficient personnel to help the LTO enforce the law against drunk driving.

In June 2016, the Global Road Safety Partnership granted the project to MMDA to help intensify its efforts in the implementation of the anti-drunk driving law.

In the Philippines, accidents of all types including road traffic crashes rank fifth among the causes of mortality in all ages. According to the DPWH's Traffic Recording and Analysis System (TARAS), 1,513 people have died in 2013 due to road accidents. The World Health Organization (WHO), however, has put the Philippine estimate much higher at 10,379 fatalities. In 2012, the PNP-HPG recorded 375 car accidents involving drunk drivers nationwide; 390 in 2013 and 498 in 2014. (PNA)