Drug and DUI testing for PUV drivers, MC Taxis
Following the tragedies that unfolded in SCTEX, where a Pangasinan Solid North bus rammed a couple of vehicles, and at the NAIA Terminal 1 where an SUV rammed bystanders on the departure area, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon has issued Department Order (DO) No. 2025-008 which mandates all Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) drivers to undergo a mandatory alcohol concentration level a.k.a. DUI testing, as well as drug testing.
This includes Motorcycle Taxi (MC Taxi) drivers.
“The person/s or entity covered by this Department Order shall ensure that all their drivers are free from the use of drugs, alcohol, or other similar substances before employment, dispatch, deployment, or before drivers are allowed to operate the vehicles mentioned in Section 1 hereof.”
Those vehicles mentioned are all types of PUVs and MC Taxis.
DUI testing every day
Under Section 3 of DO 2025-008, the operator or owner of the MC Taxi will be responsible for the DUI testing every day before the MC Taxi is deployed for duty with the use of a breath analyzer.
Additionally, the operator or owner of the MC Taxi will be shouldering the cost of the mandatory drug testing of the MC Taxi driver every 6 months, as well as periodic random testing. The MC Taxi driver shall at all times bring with his or her person the result of the daily DUI testing, as well as the periodic drug testing result.
Failure to do so may result in the confiscation of the driver’s license and the impounding of the motorcycle. In case of an accident, the MC Taxi driver will also be subjected to post-accident drug and DUI testing “within 8 hours following a major traffic citation.”
