President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday ordered reforms in driver licensing and bus safety following two deadly vehicular accidents in Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA T1) last week.

Ten persons, including four children, died when a bus hit two SUVs which collided with a tanker in the SCTEX incident on May 1. On May 4, a child and a 28-year-old man died when an SUV rammed through the departure area at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1`.

In a video message, Marcos " instructed Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to move decisively?first, to identify [and] to hold accountable those responsible, and second, to put in place the necessary reforms to prevent further loss of life."

Marcos ordered the review of driver licensing to ensure that only fit and capable persons have licenses, a nationwide audit of bus operators, and a directive to the Department of Labor to crack down on unsafe practices in the transport sector.

Meanwhile, in a press conference on Monday, Dizon said mandatory drug testing for all public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers every 90 days will be implemented by the Department of Transportation in coordination with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The number of consecutive driving hours for PUV drivers will also be adjusted from six to four hours, consistent with international standards in the European Union (EU) and Vietnam.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we just need to follow international standards,” Dizon explained.

Regular road worthiness checks of PUVs, strict implementation of driver training and examination, enforcement of the speed limit law, and automatic suspension of driver's license of drivers seen violating road regulations on social media were also proposed as ways to ensure road and passenger safety.

LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz also announced the revocation of driver’s license of the 98 bus drivers who tested positive for drugs during the Holy Week and of the Solid North bus driver involved in the SCTEX crash.

“We have revoked their driver’s license with permanent disqualification. They cannot drive ever again,” Guadiz said. Yzabela Velez-White/DMS