DOTr to require all PUV drivers to undergo mandatory drug test

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Monday announced that the government will now require all drivers of public utility vehicles (PUV) to undergo mandatory drug testing, following a series of recent road accidents which killed at least a dozen individuals. 

Dizon said he is set to sign a department order within the day, which will be “effective immediately.”

“Ako po ay galit na galit nung narinig ko sa news na ‘yung hinuling driver ng Solid North ay ayaw daw magpa-drug test. Wala po siyang choice… Hindi pwedeng hindi ka pumayag. Nakapatay ka ng sampung tao, hindi ka papayag na magpa-drug test? Pwede ba ‘yun? Parang katawa-tawa naman 'yun,” Dizon said in a press conference.

(I was very angry when I heard on the news that the arrested driver of Solid North didn't want to take a drug test. He has no choice. He can't refuse. He killed ten people, but he’s refusing to take a drug test? That’s ridiculous.)

“So hindi na pupwede 'yun [that’s no longer allowed]. We will be releasing this department order after I sign it today,” he added.

Dizon said that the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be working with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to implement the order.

The DOTr chief also pointed out that the mandatory drug testing will be on a regular basis and may be conducted every 90 days.

Moreover, he said he also asked the LTFRB and LTO to revise the maximum number of consecutive hours that PUV drivers can ply the road from the current 6 hours, down to 4 hours.

“At pinapadagdag ko pa ro’n, kailangan may ka-relyebo. Kung ang byahe ay mas mahaba sa apat na oras, mandated ang bus company na maglagay ng relyebo. Hindi konduktor. Ngayon ang ginagawa, ang konduktor siya din ang ginagawang ka-relyebong drayber. Hindi po pupwede na ‘yun,” he said.

(I’m also ordering that there should be a relief driver. If the trip is longer than four hours, the bus company is mandated to provide a relief driver. Not a conductor. Currently, the conductor is also being designated as the reliever, but we can no longer allow that.)

Dizon said he also directed the LTFRB and LTO to make “real” road-worthiness assessments of PUVs, and enforce “very strict, enforceable, and regular” checks similar to the standards of other countries.

Likewise, he said there should also be stricter driver's education to help prevent road accidents in the future.

He also called for a more stringent implementation of Republic Act No. 10916, otherwise known as the Road Speed Limiter Act of 2016.

“This needs to be implemented immediately. And there needs to be more than one supplier, because apparently, before I came in and saw it, there’s only one supplier. So that needs to change,” Dizon said.

“I want it open, free market. Everybody that complies with standards can supply that. Anyone who qualifies or meets those standards,” he added.

The Transportation Secretary also backed the call of Senator Grace Poe for the creation of a Philippine Transportation Safety Board.

Poe had said that this Board “will establish a sole agency in charge of investigating transportation-related accidents and incidents in air, land, and sea, including railways and pipeline systems.”

Dizon made these announcements in a bid to fix the “broken system” in the country, making the people feel unsafe on roads.

This, as 10 persons, including four children, were killed in a multiple-vehicle collision at the Tarlac City Toll Plaza on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway last Thursday.

Two other individuals were also killed just on Sunday when an SUV rammed into the departure area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.

“We need to make the people feel safe on our roads again because they do not feel safe. We all do not feel safe. Each and everyone of us, araw araw tayong dumaraan sa mga kalye. ‘Yung nangyari sa NAIA, ‘yung nangyari sa Solid North, pwedeng nangyari sa kahit sino sa atin dito,” Dizon said.

(Each and everyone of us pass by the streets every day. What happened at NAIA, what happened at Solid North, could have happened to any of us here.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News