DDB chief wants drug test for driver’s license applicants removed

Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman Vicente Sotto III is pushing for the removal of mandatory drug testing as a requirement in applying for a driver’s license.

Sotto said yesterday he has already asked Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza to make drug testing of driver’s license applicants random instead.

He said that based on a study conducted by the DDB and the Department of Health, only .4 percent of those tested turned out to be positive for illegal drugs. He attributed the low results to corruption among drug testing centers accredited by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

“No one will apply for a driver’s license when he knows he will test positive,” Sotto said.

However, he said those who were previously involved in accidents, illegal drug cases and other incidents should still be subjected to a mandatory drug test.

Sotto said scrapping the drug test means ordinary motorists need not pay P300 as drug testing fee each time they renew or apply for their driver’s license.

Drug testing facilities within the LTO premises charge P300 for a drug test and P50 for a visual acuity test. There are about four million driver’s license holders all over the country.

The move for the removal of mandatory drug testing was proposed by lawyer Romulo Macalintal.