10 Metro Manila bus drivers test positive for drugs

In this February 2014 photo, buses are parked at a terminal in Metro Manila. At least 10 drivers of provincial buses tested positive for illegal drugs during random tests conducted ahead of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. INQUIRER PHOTO

At least 10 drivers of provincial buses tested positive for illegal drugs during random drug tests conducted ahead of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in various bus stations in Metro Manila.

Data from the Land Transportation Office and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board showed that over 500 drivers of provincial buses had undergone random drug testing.

The random drug testing began on Oct. 28 and ended on Oct. 31 ahead of Undas or the Filipinos’ day of commemorating their departed loved ones.

During Undas, thousands of passengers troop to bus terminals in Metro Manila to head to their provinces to visit their dead loved ones.

The random drug testing was a joint initiative of the LTO, LTFRB, the Department of Transportation and Communication and the Department of Health.

The LTO said licenses of the drivers’ who tested positive for illegal drugs were confiscated and would be revoked.

The drivers who tested positive for illegal drugs were turned over to the police for violation of Republic Act No. 10586 or “An Act Penalizing Persons Driving under the Influence of Alcohol, Dangerous Drugs, And Similar Substances, And for Other Purposes.” Nestor Corrales/RC

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