Ineffective breathalyzers worth P68,000 per unit returned to LTO

MANILA, Philippines — Breathalyzers that cost P68,000 per unit were returned to the Land Transportation Office (LTO)  after they were found ineffective and unmodulated.

In a Senate Committee on Public Services hearing, led by Sen. Raffy Tulfo, on Wednesday, it was discovered that the LTO procured and distributed 756 units of breathalyzers, according to LTO Law Enforcement Service Director Francis Almora. 

Tulfo supplied the cost of the breathalyzers after Almora said he did not have the data, putting the LTO’s breathalyzers at P68,000. 

If a breathalyzer costs P68,000 per unit, then 756 units amount to P51,408,000, Tulfo’s team found. 

Tulfo listed out the cost per unit of breathalyzers abroad. In the US, a breathalyzer could cost from P5,000 to P14,000. The price is cheaper in Thailand, where breathalyzers costs P3,000 per unit.

 “P68,000 per unit. Napakamahal yata,” said Tulfo. (P68,000 per unit. It seems very expensive.) 

Almora said that out of the 756 breathalyzer units, 215 units were given to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and 50 were given to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The rest were distributed to regional offices. 

Under the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013, both the MMDA and the PNP are the ones who could be deputized to implement the law. 

However, MMDA Acting Chair Romando Artes chimed in, saying that while they received units, they had to return it.

“Yes, we received some units of breath analyzers from LTO but we returned them because it was not calibrated,” the MMDA official said.

Artes added that former MMDA chair Danilo Lim had the breathalyzers tested by telling someone to drink alcohol and using the tool. However, the device failed to detect any alcohol. 

The acting MMDA chair could not recall how many units they received but he confirmed that they returned all of them to the LTO. 

PNP Deputy Director of Administration of the Highway Patrol Group PCol. Bobby Abao also said that the police received ineffective breathalyzers from the LTO. 

“Two to three years ago we also received that units. But we returned because it was not calibrated,” Abao said.  

Asked for an explanation on this, Almora said that it