Addict drivers

The campaign of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to flush out drug users among drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) is said to have netted 17 violators, who were found positive of using shabu during surprise drug tests conducted by the agency last week.

The random campaigns enabled the Central Visayas LTO to confiscate the licenses of erring drivers pending further tests. The confiscation amounts to driving suspension which can last from three to six months. The LTO then requires violators to undergo a rehabilitation program through a center accredited by the Department of Health, after which they back to the LTO where they will undergo further tests.

I’m not sure if the LTO analyzes data gathered from such campaigns because the results netted from the random samplings suggest a “representativeness” of the sector being monitored. In other words, the results of the random campaign cannot be passed off as the actual number of drug users among tens of thousands of PUV drivers in Metro Cebu.

In fact the double-digit figures are very significant because they were culled from less than 100 drivers selected on roadside inspections. The agency mobilized the program in anticipation of the huge traffic going to provinces. It has been noticed that road accidents happen during peak seasons when there’s a surge in passengers.

This is basically the same strategy that the LTO adopts during Lent. Last April, the agency came up with a program wherein some 18 public utility vehicle drivers were tested positive for illegal drugs, in particular, methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” use. The campaign lasted a week, using as base sample 63 drivers of buses, taxicabs and jeepneys.

The question is, has the LTO drawn up a follow through strategy to address the problem? The responsibility of PUV drivers in conveying their passengers safely cannot be overstated. The government needs to examine the problem because the number of fatalities and injuries arising from road accidents is quite alarming.

According to data from the Philippine National Police’s Highway Patrol Group, some 5,021 road accidents nationwide occurred in the first half of 2012. The report said that of the total number of persons involved, 593 died and 2,376 suffered injuries.

The road accidents were caused by human error due to drunk driving, miscalculation and the use of mobile phones while driving. Drunk drivers were responsible for 246 accidents, while 71 cases were attributed to mobile phone use. The HPG data did not cite specific figures as regards the use of prohibited drugs, and here I am surprised because the LTO has been conducting regular campaigns to collar drug users among PUV drivers and specific data have been publicly released.

In other countries, getting a driver’s license is like passing through the eye of a needle. In Florida State, USA for example, the documentation is so strict that it may be comparable to requirements imposed by small Philippine banks to clients applying for a loan.

Web resources indicate the state’s traffic laws on driving, training and substance abuse education are very thorough. There are regular education courses for teens who wish to drive, just as there are programs for the elderly behind the wheel.

Here, we often hear that an applicant who knows his way around the LTO office simply approaches certain officials and in a matter of minutes, a driver’s license is issued. This problem has been going on for ages and the most that the government has done is come up with policies that translate to government revenues, but nothing in terms of correcting the system.

For example, would confiscating the driver’s license to allow the violator to undergo tests in government accredited agencies really result in his rehabilitation? If he can pay his way to get a license, I don’t see why he can’t in getting a simple certificate. In fact, it seems the strategy purposely leaves out the drug abuse issue in the equation and abets the problem in a perverse way.

We have a young secretary in the Department of Transportation and Communications and I hope that Joseph Emilio Abaya will interact with stakeholders in looking for solutions. The riding public, business community and resource persons from abroad should be engaged in drawing out a holistic and long term solution to the complex problem of road accidents, because at the end of the day, the government cannot do it alone.

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Meanwhile, what is the LTO, the Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Philippine National Police doing about the surfeit of habal-habals operating in different parts of Metro Cebu?

The boom in the real estate, in particular, housing projects around Cebu’s hills and mountains have seen the rise of habal-habals operating in these areas. Likewise, call center agents also prefer habal-habal over taxis because it’s cheaper.

In Talisay City, habal-habals occupy roadsides and areas under the flyover in Tabunok at night. The city government is turning a blind eye because the routes being served by habal-habals are not economically viable for legitimate transport companies. The city has practically turned over subdivision residents to the mercy of habal-habal operators, who charge passengers exorbitant rates.

I heard the situation has become even worse, because some criminal elements have infiltrated the ranks of the supposed underground PUV drivers. I received reports that during nighttime, police characters who pose as habal-habal drivers rob women passengers.