THE chairman of the committee on social services on Monday, February 19, said the City Council of Cagayan de Oro has updated an existing ordinance against drunk driving to include penalties for drivers caught driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
According to City Councilor Reuben Daba, there was a city ordinance under the previous City Council which allows the arrest of drunk drivers but this did not have corresponding penalties.
"Actually naa nay ordinance sa karaan nga Council pero wala syay penalty clause, ingon lang nga dakpon ka kon hubog. So karon, gibutangan gyud nako (there's an ordinance under the previous council but there was no penalty clause, only the authorization to apprehend drunk drivers. So now, in the new ordinance, penalties were added)," Daba said.
The penalties upon apprehension of a drunk or drugged driver, according to Daba, are: for first offense: P2,000 and a month of imprisonment; second offense: P5,000 and 3 months imprisonment; and last offense: P10,000 penalty, 6 months imprisonment and the driver's license will be confiscated.
"Once nga i-approve dinhi sa konseho ato kanang i-double time na makita gyud, so anytime mag random check na ang atong RTA (Roads and Traffic Administration), uban sa atong Cadac (City Anti-Drug Abuse Council) ug BCPC (Barangay Council for the Protection of Children) ug uban sa atong (the council approves the ordinance, we will move double time, there will be random checks conducted by the RTA, Cadac,) PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), DOH (Department of Health) ug (and) PNP (Philippine National Police)," Daba said.
The city councilor also said that they are also planning to purchase P3 million worth of equipment that can determine the alcohol level and drugs intake of a driver.
Daba said the two equipment are needed, one for checking the alcohol levels of the driver and the other for checking the drugs intake.
He added that they will purchase the equipment for the two districts of Cagayan de Oro to ensure that no one will be exempted during the random checks.
The passing of the new city ordinance and the planned purchase of equipment, Daba said, are done to lessen the number of vehicular incidents which has started to become rampant in the city.
"Halos kadaadlaw naay vehicular accident na mga hubog... kinahanglan ma stop na gyud (Almost every day, vehicular accidents happen which involved drunk drivers... We need to stop this)," Daba said.
The chairman of the committee on social services also reminded people not to drive after taking medicines for coughs, colds, and among others as these can cause drowsiness.