With drunk driving still considered a major reason for road accidents in the country, the House Committee on Transportation approved Wednesday the increase in penalties for persons caught driving motor vehicles while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
A committee report that consolidated HB 1165 and 1573 was unanimously approved by the House panel as authors Deputy Speaker and 1 Pacman Rep. Michael Odylon Romero and Reps. Enrico Pineda (1Pacman) and Raneo Abu (NP, Batangas) batted strongly for stiffer penalties for drunk driving.
The consolidated bill proposes to amend Republic Act 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 by increasing penalties for the said offenses.
Romero said the bill also provides for the procurement by the Land Transportation Office of breath analyzers that will help determine if motorists are under the influence of alcohol.
“This House bill seeks to rationalize and broaden the implementation of all anti-drug and drugged driving measures to further foster our law enforcement guidelines and policies,” the House official said.
Under the consolidated bill motorists found to be drunk or drugged while driving will be slapped with imprisonment of at least six months and fined from P50,000 to P100,000.
The current law imposes a maximum three months imprisonment and a fine ranging from P20,000 to P80,000.
If the violation resulted in physical injuries the prison term will be the same imposed under Article 2634 of the Revised Penal Code or a fine of P150,000 to P250,000 or both. RA 10586 imposes a fine of P100,000 to P200,000.
For drunk and drugged driving acts that caused the death of an individual, the prison term to be imposed will be similar to Article 249 of the RPC while the fine will be somewhere between P350,000 to P500,000.
For non-professional drivers found violating the legal provisions, penalty will be increased from confiscation and suspension of license for a period of 18 months, six months longer than the current law.