00:00When there's an amatz, there's an awat.
00:03That's what a congressman reminded the drivers
00:06in the middle of the left-right Christmas party today.
00:09He called it a new initiative put on the camera
00:12to tighten the Anti-Drunk Driving Act in the country.
00:16Here's the central news of Melanes Moras.
00:21Eduardo has been a bus driver in Quezon City for 8 years.
00:25He said that sometimes he didn't get into an accident during the trip
00:29and he's very careful not to let this happen again.
00:32Before I travel, I check all my needs, including myself,
00:38and I always follow my traffic laws.
00:42Here in the camera, the new initiative was put on the camera
00:45by ACT-Bayan Partylist Representative Percy Sendana
00:48for the safety of passengers, especially during the holiday season.
00:52That's House Bill 11220 or Iwas Amatz, Iwas Aksidente Bill
00:58that paves the way for tighter road protocols
01:01for drivers who drink alcohol.
01:04Under House Bill 11220, a breathalyzer test will be carried out
01:09to determine if the driver is drunk
01:12and to tighten its metrics.
01:15Sendana said that it's important to tighten the road restrictions.
01:19According to road crashes data in the country from 2015 to 2019,
01:25more than 5,000 out of almost 19,000 were alcohol-related.
01:30Because of our current loss here in RA 10586,
01:36the Anti-Drunk and Drug Driving Act of 2013,
01:39the emphasis is on drunk driving.
01:42But we saw that it's not necessary to be impaired as a driver.
01:49So we're saying that we need to lower the threshold
01:53in terms of alcohol consumption.
01:55Even if it's just tipsy, it should be prohibited.
01:58What about commuters?
02:00Should they be allowed to board this new vehicle?
02:03So that there won't be accidents.
02:05Tighten it.
02:06And maybe they're on drugs.
02:09We don't know.
02:11This is Congressman Sendana's message to the public during Christmas.
02:16If there's Amatz or Awat,
02:19because the best gift we can give our families
02:22is that we can go home alive and safe.
02:25A safe Christmas for all of us.
02:28Melales Moras for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
