TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 17, (PIA)--Bohol's Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) is into studying ways to put a policy on intoxicated minors driving at night and causing accidents, all in aid of legislation.
Board Member Cesar Tomas Lopez, SP Committee on Peace announced to the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) Meeting March 17, that he would ask the SP to study if crafting a legislation to impose regulations on selling alcohol to minors, or a simultaneous alcohol and drug testing for intoxicated drivers involved in drug accidents would be good.
More so, Land Transportation Office (LTO) registrar Erwin Patalinghug added that his office awaits 10 Alcohol Breath Testing (ABT) apparatuses and the trained technical team to handle such to help in keeping drunk drivers off the streets.
This too as the statisticians at Camp Francisco Dagohoy tracked 170 physical injury cases in February, and some 118 of these by vehicular accidents, report by PCInspector Jeffrey Caballes showed.
In these cases of physical injuries, Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio revealed to the council that more and more minors are involved, a good number of them under the influence of liquor.
Meanwhile, City Police Chief PCInspector George Vale confirmed Damalerio's revelations, adding that more and more motorcycles are getting involved in accidents, them becoming readily available that stores even sell it to customers who could not show licenses.
The problem seems to be compounded as the police could not fully deploy its men on the streets owing to the absence of police traffic deputation by the LTO.
LTO registrar Patalinghug also the LTO holds in abeyance the issuance of Temporary Operator's Permit (TOP) and thus the deputation for some reasons he could not present.
With no LTO deputation, police officers skip from traffic duty in as much as accosting traffic violators without issuing TRO means hassles for them.
Standard operating procedures for non-deputized police in traffic duty would be to endorse to the LTO any recorded violation within 24 hours or they could be held administratively liable for the failure.
For this, more and more police officers would rather look the other way, they said.
In the absence of deputation, City police Chief Vale noted that police can still do their job and using a local ordinance for the violation.
Even then, the PPOC wants to know if a ban on selling liquor to minors could be done, or if the stores could be exacted liability for drunk driving, if only to help curb these incidents. (rac/PIABohol)
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