PDEA seeks tougher laws vs drivers who use drugs
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Dionisio Santiago said yesterday he is seeking tougher laws against suspected drug-using drivers and other motorists, particularly those in the public transport industry.
Santiago said PDEA is helpless against some public transport drivers reportedly addicted to illegal drug use.
He said it’s not clear in the law if a suspected drug-user driver will have to be jailed if he or she is positive during the drug tests.
The PDEA chief believes drug use is a continuing practice among some bus drivers. He said they have arrested one bus dispatcher who supplied the drugs to drivers to help them stay awake during the long drive.
Due to an existing Supreme Court ruling that prevents the conduct of mandatory drug testing, Santiago said the agency hopes to work around the situation by encouraging bus operators to implement the practice on their own.
The PDEA chief said marijuana and shabu are the preferred drugs of some bus operators plying the Benguet Province area.
The death of 2009 Binibining Pilipinas International Melody Gersbach on August 21 has drawn much-needed attention to the spate of deadly bus accidents in the country.
Gersbach and her two companions died in the accident as their Toyota Innova figured in a head-on collision with a passenger bus in Bula, Camarines Sur. Five others were hurt in the incident.
Land transport records reveal as much as 80 people have been killed and nearly 90 hurt in a series of bus accidents since June this year.
On Aug. 18, 41 people died, and eight hurt when their bus fell into a ravine in Sablan, Benguet.
Also, 15 people were killed and 48 others hurt when their bus rammed into a post in Toledo, Cebu on July 5.
On June 13, 20 Iranian nationals and the Filipino owner of the tourist bus they were riding also died, while 26 others here hurt, when the vehicle fell into a ravine in Balamban, Cebu.
Most of the accidents have been blamed on mechanical failure, faulty brakes, and tire blowout.*
