MMDA: PITX bus drivers pass drug test

MANILA, Philippines — No bus driver tested positive for illegal drugs after authorities held a surprise drug test at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) yesterday.

Officials from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government, National Capital Region Police Office and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency held the drug test simultaneously with their inspection of the public transport terminal.

The agencies performed the drug test “to ensure the safety of commuters using public transportation going to their respective provinces in time for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days,” according to acting MMDA Chairman Romando Artes.

Last Friday, an estimated 143,000 passengers flocked to the PITX to catch bus rides going to Quezon, Laguna, Baguio City, Occidental Mindoro, Bicol and Batangas, the MMDA said in its statement.

The number could increase as more people could travel to provinces during the holidays in time for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Oct. 30 and the observance of All Souls’ and Saints’ Days on Nov. 1 and 2.

The MMDA said it deployed a total of 1,448 field personnel at major thoroughfares and transport hubs as well as key areas in Metro Manila.

Around 600 members of the agency’s Metro Parkways Clearing Group will help clean up cemeteries in Metro Manila while those from the Road Emergency Group are “ready to provide medical attention when needed,” the MMDA said.