Tulfo: LTO wasted P51M on useless breathalyzers

Sen. Raffy Tulfo—(Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers have uncovered why reports on accidents, traffic altercations, and road rage due to intoxicated drivers persist despite the passage 11 years ago of Republic Act (RA) No. 10586, or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013.

Many of the more than 700 units of breathalyzers, which cost more than P51 million at P68,000 each, that were procured by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), were ineffective and therefore not used.

In fact, the units distributed to the Philippine National Police and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) were returned to the LTO because these were “uncalibrated.”

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This was disclosed during the hearing of the Senate committee on public services, chaired by Sen. Raffy Tulfo, on the Fair Traffic Apprehension Act.

Breathalyzers are instruments that test the alcohol level of motorists and are vital in filing drunk-driving cases in court.

“It seems like nothing has changed and incidents of drunk driving have increased,” he lamented, noting that the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG) reported an increase in incidents by as much as 90 percent in terms of the number of road accidents caused by drunk drivers.

“Clearly, there is something lacking in the law, particularly in its implementation by the country’s law enforcement agencies,” he pointed out.

Overpriced

During the hearing, LTO Law Enforcement Service Director Francis Almora said that out of the 756 units they bought, 215 were given to the MMDA and 50 to the PNP, while the rest were distributed to LTO regional offices across the country.

MMDA acting Chair Romando Artes confirmed that they received the devices, but had to return all of the units to the LTO “because they’re not calibrated.”

“I remember at the time, then (MMDA) chairman, the late Danilo Lim, tested the breathalyzer by asking his security to drink alcohol and try the breath analyzer. It registered zero alcohol level, that’s why we returned it,” he narrated.

Deputy director for administration Police Col. Bobby Abao of the HPG also said they received the devices two to three years ago and had to return them for the same reason as the MMDA’s.

Almora said he did not have the data when asked by Tulfo about the price of each breathalyzer.

“I can give it to you now, it’s P68,000 each… It seems very expensive. Why is it so expensive?” the senator asked.

According to him, they checked the breathalyzer prices abroad and found that they were much cheaper.

“In the US, a breathalyzer could cost from P5,000 to P14,000. In Thailand, it’s P3,000 per unit. In China, it’s P22,000. But let’s look at the US, they have high quality, and it’s only P5,000 to P14,000,” Tulfo said.

Senate probe

Almora said he would look further into the matter, explaining that the procurement of the breathalyzers happened before his tenure.

However, he stressed that there were breathalyzers that functioned, as the LTO had 1,496 prosecutions under RA 10586.

However, Tulfo did not accept Almora’s explanation.

“What a convenient excuse,” Tulfo said. “It didn’t work, P68,000 for a faulty, damaged, and defective breathalyzer. The people’s money was wasted.”

He added that those in charge of the procurement of the breathalyzers would be invited to attend the next hearing.

“But this early, I’ll judge it now, it’s not worth it since the breathalyzers were faulty. It’s not worth it because it doesn’t work,” Tulfo noted.

Asked if the LTO still plans to buy new breathalyzers, Almora said yes and that a market study was ongoing.

To this, Tulfo replied: “There’s more? You still have the guts, even after this fiasco.’’

But Transportation Undersecretary Jesus Ferdinand Ortega said that “all movements are put on hold” for the meantime as they have to determine what happened to the previous procurement.

Lack of interest

He added that he would ask the LTO to write a report regarding the procurement of the breathalyzers.

Tulfo said the PNP should be the lead agency to buy the breath analyzers.

“The PNP should procure it along with body cameras so that when you apprehend a drunk driver, it would be ensured that protocols are followed,” he said.

But according to Abao, the PNP-HPG has not bought breath analyzers “due to the absence of an appropriated budget specifically allocated for this purpose.”

Artes also said that they had no procurement because they had no deputized traffic enforcers.

Tulfo noted that under RA 10586, the LTO can deputize the MMDA and PNP to enforce the law.

“We already had two batches of enforcers, 25 personnel per batch, who underwent training and written exams for deputization. Unfortunately, I do not know if it’s the lack of competence or if they intended to do it… they all failed the written exam,” he said.

“Does it mean that all your people there in the MMDA are idiots?,” asked Tulfo.

The MMDA official surmised that the agency personnel might lack interest in passing the exam since they would be deployed from night to early morning, when drowsy driving usually occurs.