Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief, Assistant Secretary Vigor D. Mendoza II on Sunday said he is seeking the procurement of breath analyzers as part of the strict law enforcement aimed at ensuring the safety of all road users.

Just like the implementation of the law on the mandatory installation of speed limiters to public utility vehicles (PUVs), Mendoza explained that the full implementation of the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 should be started in the soonest possible time amid cases of road accidents involving drunk motorists.

“We have an existing Philippine Road Safety Action Plan which is being actively pushed by our (DoTr) Secretary Jaime J. Bautista and the strict enforcement of Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 and the Road Speed Limiter Act of 2016 are part of this plan,” Mendoza said.

“And to ensure effective enforcement, we have to download as many breath analyzers that could be used by traffic and law enforcers on the ground,” he added.

Currently, Mendoza said they are waiting for the final assessment of what remained of the 756 units of breath analyzers that were procured in 2015 and 2017.

Earlier, Mendoza ordered a review of the procured breath analyzers over reports that they are no longer usable.

And based on the initial assessment, only 288 of the 756 units could be fixed and recalibrated.

“Our focus right now is to really fix the purchased breath analyzers because what is important is to re-distribute them to our personnel on the ground for the strict implementation of the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013,” Mendoza said.

Part of the assessment, however, according to Mendoza, is the conduct of an analysis if it would be more practical to buy new breath analyzers than have them fixed and recalibrated.

But what Mendoza assured is that if the LTO would purchase new breath analyzers, the procurement process would be transparent.

“Let’s ensure that we can obtain this at the lowest possible cost while still meeting the specifications, and we can guarantee good quality for the breath analyzers,” Mendoza said.

“This is also the directive of our President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. that services under the New Philippines should be transparent and of high quality,” he added.