ANGELES CITY—Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. has deployed nightshift traffic enforcers to contain vehicular accidents involving driving under influence (DUI).
The city government will initially deploy 14 additional enforcers, with a shift starting from 7PM to 3AM the next morning.
The team will closely monitor the situation in the city during nighttime to prevent accidents.
This is also in line with the strict compliance of traffic rules and regulations.
The city government said the number of drunk-driving accidents in Angeles City is increasing.
Records from the Angeles City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office headed by Rodolfo Simeon show the ACDRRMO responded to 321 accidents of drunk driving in the city since November 2022 to May 24, 2023, where 319 were rushed to the hospital for further treatment while 2 was dead on arrival.
Lazatin instructed Simeon to deploy ambulances in four strategic places to limit the response time of 10-15 minutes maximum to save lives.
The city government said it will work hand-in-hand with the Land Transportation Office LTO for the implementation of the guidelines and apprehension of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Angeles City Traffic Development Officer-in-Charge Francis Pangilinan said the additional traffic enforcers underwent training and seminars before they can be deployed.
The newly-hired traffic enforcers took Basic Traffic Management Seminar and studied the Angeles City Traffic Code.
Lazatin is also requesting the LTO to train city police officers and traffic enforcers from the ACTDO for the standardized field sobriety tests and that of its policy in undertaking this.
An additional nine traffic personnel are currently deputized by the LTO.
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.