LTO turns over 2 breathalyzers to city

CEBU, Philippines — The campaign against drunk driving in Cebu City received a boost as the Land Transportation Office Region 7 (LTO?7) formally turned over two breath analyzers to the city government, reinforcing the city’s own procurement plans and its push to amend the Anti?Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013.

LTO handed two devices for Cebu City with one to be under the care of Cebu City Transportation Office and the other to Cebu City Police Office’s Traffic Enforcement Unit.

The turnover ceremony was held at the mayor’s office the other day, attended by LTO?7 Regional Director Atty. Wendel Dinglasan, Legal Officer Atty. Geralgin Balatucan, and Operations Division Head Atty. Vincent Francis Bien Santiago.

This comes several months after the Banilad hit?and?run tragedy that claimed the life of 23?year?old entrepreneur Kingston Ralph Cheng, a case that exposed enforcement gaps when the suspect was tested nearly 18 hours after the incident, by which time alcohol traces had dissipated.

Public outrage over the delayed testing prompted Mayor Nestor Archival to order procurement of breath analyzers under the Peace and Order Program.

Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña also pushed for direct purchase and legislative amendments to RA 10586 to strengthen enforcement and ensure equal treatment in impaired driving cases.

Cebu City South District Rep. Edu Rama has since filed the “Kingston Cheng Amendments” in Congress, seeking to lower blood alcohol concentration thresholds, mandate testing within two hours of an incident, and the treatment of alcohol testing as a forensic emergency.

LTO?7 has been distributing breath analyzers across Cebu Province since February, with each unit costing about ?85,000 earlier reports said.

These devices provide immediate, admissible evidence in drunk driving cases, addressing a long?standing weakness where delayed hospital testing often led to dismissed charges.

Archival thanked the agency and personally tested the device, with results showing no trace of alcohol.

Santiago explained the thresholds under Republic Act No. 10586. “Sa result sa pag?blow ni mayor, it’s 0.00 which means wala siya nag?take ug alcohol,” he said.

The LTO official then talked about the breath analyzer’s threshold.

“Ang atoa nga threshold para ma?determine in violation of RA 10586 ang usa ka tawo kay kon nagmaneho siya og motor, truck or PUV, ang angay nga resulta pareho sa kang Mayor 000… Kay mag?001 gani, in violation na siya. Pero if nag?drive siya ug four?wheel private motor vehicle, dili angay mulapas sa .05 ang iyang alcohol level. Kon .05 in violation na siya but if .04 dili pa siya in violation as long as private vehicle ang iyang gineho,” Santiago explained.

In another development, LTO also convened 148 accredited dealers in Cebu City to strengthen the Plate Distribution Campaign.

Dealers were directed to stop batching registrations and ensure timely submission of documents to avoid delays in issuing Official Receipts and Certificates of Registration.

By serving as satellite partners, dealerships will allow motorists to claim plates directly, reducing congestion at LTO offices. — (FREEMAN)