If you drink, don’t drive… unless you’re ready to go to prison

Are you familiar with Philippine laws on driving drunk or drugged? Take this quiz to find out.

It’s past midnight. Mike is a 45-year-old having dinner and drinks with his friends at his own home. He enjoyed chatting with his friends so much that he didn’t bother to keep track of how many glasses of wine he’s had. Suddenly, he receives a call from his sister saying that her car broke down in the middle of an isolated area. She says there are no cabs and no other cars in sight. She has no one to call for help but Mike.

Like a good sibling, Mike rushes out of the house to rescue his sister. He’s tipsy, but he feels confident that he’s sober enough to drive. He drives his car. His car weaves and straddles lanes once in a while, and Mike realizes he’s drunker than he thought. Nonetheless, he successfully picks up his sister and takes her home.  Mike then goes back to his house and rejoins his friends for more drinks. 

Did Mike violate any law?

The answer is YES.

What? But Mike had a family emergency! He just wanted to help his sister. It’s not like he harmed anyone or damaged any property.

If you had to answer this question prior to 2013, the correct answer would have been NO.

Before 2013, a person would not be liable solely for drunk driving. A person who drives while drunk will be liable if he causes damage to persons or property. For instance, a driver would be liable for damages to property if, as result of his drunk driving, he collides with and wrecks another car. A driver would also be liable for the crime of causing physical injuries if another person sustains physical injuries as a result of his drunk driving.

Now, it is illegal to drink and drive. It does not matter if you’re only slightly drunk or completely plastered. It is irrelevant that you did not injure any person or damage any property. It’s not a defense that you drove a car while intoxicated because of a family emergency.

The prohibition against driving while intoxicated is absolute under the Anti-Drunk & Drugged Driving Act of 2013. It declares that it is “unlawful for any person to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, dangerous drugs and/or other similar substances.”

The prohibition extends to driving while under the influence of “dangerous drugs” and other similar substances. The types of drugs ingested by a driver which make the act of driving illegal are those considered as “dangerous drugs” listed under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Examples of these dangerous drugs include, but are not limited to, cocaine, marijuana or heroin.

But how will law enforcers catch a drunk or drugged driver if he doesn’t crash with another car or run over another person? Remember Mike from our quiz?  He got home safely didn’t he? No one would have known he was intoxicated while driving.

A law enforcement officer may stop a car and conduct “field sobriety tests” if he has probable cause to believe that a person is driving under the influence of alcohol, dangerous drugs and/or other similar substances. Such probable cause may be based on observations made by a law enforcer from the manner a person is driving—like overspeeding, weaving, lane straddling, suddenly stopping, or swerving. There may also be probable cause if a law enforcement officer can see that the driver has poor coordination, or if he can smell alcohol from the driver’s breath.

Field sobriety tests that law enforcement officers may conduct on drivers are standardized tests designed to initially assess and determine intoxication. Most of these tests are similar to those used in countries like the United States to determine DUI (Driving Under the Influence) law violations—such as horizontal gaze nystagmus, the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg stand.

Drivers who are not intoxicated—but cursed with poor physical coordination—need not worry. If a driver fails in the sobriety tests, the law enforcement officer must determine the driver’s blood alcohol concentration level through the use of a breath analyzer or similar measuring instrument. It’s possible that the Implementing Rules and Regulations will indicate the blood alcohol concentration level which would qualify a person as driving drunk in violation of the law. However, the Implementing Rules and Regulations have yet to be issued by Department of Health, the National Police Commission, and the Department of Transportation and Communications.

A person who is suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or other similar substances will be subjected to additional tests. A law enforcement officer that has probable cause to believe that a person is driving under the influence of dangerous drugs and/or other similar substances must take such driver to the nearest police station to be subjected to a drug screening test and, if necessary, a drug confirmatory test.

If a car accident causes death or physical injuries to a person, an intoxicated driver will have to undergo chemical tests (including a drug screening test and, if necessary, a drug confirmatory test) to determine the presence and/or concentration of alcohol, dangerous drugs and/or similar substances in the bloodstream or body of the driver.

Assuming you’re a driver who’s only had a few sips of alcohol and you’re convinced that you’re sober enough to drive, can you refuse to take a sobriety test? No, unless you’re willing to risk losing your driver’s license.

If a person refuses to undergo the field sobriety and drug tests, he may be punished with the confiscation and automatic revocation of his driver’s license.

The penalties for driving while intoxicated with alcohol or drugs are serious. 

A person who drives while intoxicated with alcohol and/or drugs may face 3 months imprisonment, and a fine ranging from P20,000 to P80,000. Mike (from our quiz) ran the risk of facing these penalties when he drove while intoxicated with alcohol even if he did not harm any person or cause damage to any property.

If physical injuries were sustained by a victim as a result of a person driving while intoxicated with alcohol and/or drugs, the driver may face imprisonment ranging from 4 months to 12 years (depending on the type of injury sustained by the victim), and a fine ranging from P100,000 to P200,000.

If a victim dies as a result of a person driving while intoxicated with alcohol and/or drugs, the driver may face imprisonment ranging from 12 years to 20 years, and a fine ranging from P300,000 to P500,000.

Violation of the Anti-Drunk & Drugged Driving Act may also result in the temporary or permanent loss of a driver’s license.

Holders of a nonprofessional driver’s license have a two-strike rule: (1) upon first conviction for driving while drunk and/or drugged, their license may be confiscated and suspended for 1 year; and (2) upon second conviction for driving while drunk and/or drugged, their license may be permanently revoked.

A stricter rule applies to holders of a professional driver’s license—their license may be confiscated and permanently revoked upon FIRST conviction for driving while drunk and/or drugged.

A person whose driver’s license is permanently or “perpetually” revoked will be disqualified from being granted any kind of driver’s license thereafter.

On top of all these penalties under the Anti-Drunk & Drugged Driving Act, a drunk and/or drugged driver may also be prosecuted for violations of any other laws or regulations.

Drinking alcohol is not illegal in the Philippines, but drinking AND driving is.  So the next time you decide to drink, make sure you don’t drive.

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Karen Jimeno is a junior partner at the Jimeno Cope & David Law Firm and a law professor in various law schools. She is also a TV host for LegalHD at Solar News Channel and the resident legal coach of Face the People at TV5. She is a graduate of UP Law School and Harvard Law School and is licensed to practice law in the Philippines and in New York.