A senator is pushing to overhaul the country’s more than decade-old anti-impaired driving law, citing mounting casualties on Philippine roads and a specific case where an alleged loophole allowed a suspect to avoid immediate testing.
Senate Bill No. 2068, filed by Sen. Bam Aquino and received by the Senate Office of the Secretary last Thursday, targets Republic Act No. 10586, or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013. The bill comes as the Department of Health’s Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System recorded 1,555 road crashes during Holy Week 2026 — a 255.8 percent increase from the same period the previous year.
Among the deaths the senator referenced was 23-year-old Kingston Ralph Cheng, killed in a hit-and-run on February 8, 2026. Aquino said Cheng’s case laid bare a flaw in the existing law: testing was delayed long enough for the suspect’s blood alcohol concentration to drop.
“Under the current law, a driver can evade liability simply by avoiding immediate testing. This is unacceptable; justice should not depend on how long someone can delay enforcement,” the senator said.
The bill proposes lowering the allowable blood alcohol concentration thresholds from the current 0.05 percent to 0.02 percent for novice and professional drivers and PUV operators, and to 0.03 percent for private vehicle drivers.
To close the testing delay gap, SB 2068 would require all drivers involved in incidents to undergo chemical testing within two hours, with both police and medical institutions held responsible for ensuring prompt compliance. The measure also introduces implied consent — meaning that holding a driver’s license constitutes automatic agreement to submit to alcohol or drug testing when lawfully required.
The bill further authorizes the use of retrograde extrapolation, a scientific method of estimating a driver’s blood alcohol level at the time of the incident by working backward from a later test result.
Repeat offenders would face mandatory installation of ignition interlock devices, while all convicted drivers would be required to complete a state-accredited alcohol safety program.
“The death of Kingston Cheng is a painful reminder that we must do better to keep our roads safe. The changes to this bill ensure that our rules are not only reactive, but proactive; not only punitive, but preventive; and above all, responsive to the value we place on every Filipino life and the lives of young Filipinos, who are unduly affected by road crashes,” Aquino said.
The senator framed the legislation around what he called a “Vision Zero” principle — the position that no road fatality is acceptable and that safety requires coordinated action across policy, infrastructure design, behavior, and accountability.
