AN OFFICIAL of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Davao Region said they have not encountered problems in the implementation of the Anti-Distracted Driving Act (Adda) in Davao City in terms of apprehending violators.
Benjamin Antonio Jr., head of the LTO-Davao Law enforcement section, told VoxPop Davao that they have only apprehended four violators since the implementation of the law and those apprehended were driving private vehicles.
Antonio said they did not experience complications in apprehending the violators, adding that most Dabawenyos seem to have understood and are aware of the law and have complied accordingly.
He noted that no motorcycle and public utility vehicle drivers have violated Adda.
Antonio, however, said that they are experiencing difficulty in identifying violators.
He said they were only able to identify the violators visually unlike in Manila where their counterparts have access to high definition CCTV cameras.
"There has been no memorandum of agreement from the city and the LTO on the use of CCTV." Antonio said.
He said heavily-tinted vehicles have become a problem since they had to identify the violators manually.
Antonio urged Dabawenyos to simply follow the Adda to avoid problems along the road.
"So follow lang ta tanan sa proseso (Let us just follow the processes) because the law may be harsh but we have to do it. Kelangan gyud namo i-implement ang baload (We have to implement the law)," he said.
Adda prohibits drivers from holding mobile devices to make or receive calls, compose, send or read text messages, perform calculation on mobile devices, play games, watch videos or browse the internet while driving.
Any person caught violating Adda would have to pay a fine of P5,000 on the first offense; P10,000 on the second offense; and P15,000 and one month suspension of the driver's license on the third and final offense. (John Jude Benedict Malones, UIC Intern)