The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has suspended the driver’s license of 671 motorists for their involvement in vehicular accidents and other road safety violations, including public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers testing positive for illegal drug use, during the entire Holy Week period alone.
LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said they would issue 1,165 show-cause orders to motor vehicle owners over their failure to pass the random roadworthiness inspections also during the Lenten Season.
“This is really unprecedented on the part of the LTO that has already suspended so many driver’s licenses and issued many show-cause orders, all in relation to traffic violations and road safety rules,” he said.
“We never really reached this level before, but we will work double time on this because as our (Transportation) Secretary Vince Dizon said, road safety will not be compromised,” the LTO chief added.
Out of the 671 suspended driver’s licenses, a total of 574 of them were related to road accidents that resulted in casualties from physical injuries to death.
A total of 97 driver’s licenses had been suspended after the holders tested positive following the random and surprise drug test conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency at the height of the Holy Week exodus.
Amid the government’s effort to teach the errant drivers a lesson immediately, the LTO chief emphasized that due process must still be observed, including those who tested positive and those who figured in fatal road accidents.
Dizon, meanwhile, cited the revocation of a bus driver’s license after a viral video showed him overspeeding in La Union, with passengers pleading for him to slow down.
