Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. on March 30, 2023 wants to reinforce a strict compliance of traffic rules and regulations, as the number of drunk-driving accidents in Angeles City is increasing.
Lazatin bared this during his meeting with the officials from the Land Transportation Office at the Mayor’s Office.
Records from the Angeles City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, headed by Rodolfo Simeon, show the ACDRRMO responded to 232 accidents of drunk driving in the city since November 2022 to March 30, 2023, where 231 were rushed to the hospital for further treatment while 1 was dead on arrival.
Lazatin said the city aims to not just decrease road accidents but to totally avoid it.
Lazatin is also reminding Angeleños, as well as motorists and drivers from other areas plying the city’s roads, to stop drinking and driving, pushing for a sobriety field test, or a test used in the field, to determine if a person suspected of impaired driving is intoxicated with alcohol or other drugs.
With this, the city government and the LTO will strictly work hand-in-hand for the implementation of the existing guidelines for the apprehension of driving under the influence of alcohol
Lazatin is also requesting the LTO to train city police officers and traffic enforcers from the Angeles City Traffic Development Office for the standardized field sobriety tests, and that of its policy in undertaking this.
In addition, Lazatin asks LTO to deputize the city’s enforcers, and said he will deploy more traffic enforcers during nighttime.
Pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act, anyone caught driving under the influence may be meted with imprisonment, and/or fines of up to PHP500,000, depending on the gravity of the accident.
