Parañaque City retools vs drunk drivers

The Parañaque City police can now apprehend drunk drivers using breath analyzers donated by the Automobile Association of the Philippines in line with the organization’s campaign for road safety.

The AAP handed over three units of the S80 Breathalyzer imported from the United States, as Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. on Friday signed an order spelling out the implementing rules and regulations of a city ordinance penalizing drunk driving.

Insp. Leonardo Madrid, chief of the city’s traffic investigation unit, said Parañaque records an average of 140 road accidents a month.

Of the 2,500 road accidents recorded in the city in 2012, 68 were caused by drunk driving.

According to PO2 Isidro Magloyuan, most of his fellow traffic enforcers were hesitant to book drunk drivers for lack of necessary equipment.

“When you issue a ticket, they will contest it. To prove the violation, you still have to bring the offender to the nearest government hospital for tests,” he said.

Some doctors and medical staff members are also reluctant to administer tests lest they be forced to attend future hearings, he said.

“The donated breath analyzers will help us a lot since we can now prove the violation right away,” he said. Jodee A. Agoncillo