Sleep doctors and partners campaign vs Drowsy Driving at Christmas festivities
“TABI MUNA.”
This is the slogan of the latest campaign this Christmas led by the Philippine Society of Sleep Medicine (PSSM), a non-governmental organization established in 2002 to promote awareness on the importance of sleep health, in partnership with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Uratex Philippines, Philips Respironics, and Petron Philippines.
“TABI MUNA,” in English means pull-over, is a commonly used phrasal verb in driving, which means to pull-over on the road to take a nap if the motorist/driver is physically tired or has not had enough sleep.
While comprehensive statistics on drowsy driving locally in 2025 are not yet available, internationally reported incidences of road accidents linked to driver sleepiness are as high as 30%. The leading factor behind these accidents is sleep deprivation.
A recent survey revealed that the Philippines ranks first in Southeast Asia and fourth worldwide as one of the “most sleep-deprived” nations. This highlights the urgent need to raise awareness about the dangers of drowsy driving and to encourage safer driving habits by changing drivers’ perceptions and behaviors toward sleep and road safety.
The passage of Senate Bill No. 2063 Sleep Disorder Awareness and Education Act, filed on April 12, 2023 by Senator Mark Villar, seems long, but there is no other time to educate more citizens about the perils of sleep deprivation but now.
To ramp up the campaign on Drowsy Driving Prevention, the PSSM and partners launched the “TABI MUNA” three-series TV Commercial (TVC), which was officially launched to the media at the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Auditorium, New MMDA Building, in Pasig, last 17 December 2025, reaching out to thousands of citizens especially during this Christmas season.
“Our goal is to promote the campaign to more people—especially motorists who drive this busy holiday season. Oftentimes, we are overtaken by Christmas festivities and compromise our safety on the road—not having enough sleep or even drinking can impair driving causing drowsiness, which alters our visual functions and affects our mental judgment and motor skills,” said PSSM President Dr. Jimmy Chang.
Dr. Chang added that there is a great need to alert everyone about the dangers of fatigue and promote safe behavior especially on the road. The three-series “TABI MUNA” commercials would hopefully put drowsy driving prevention in the consciousness of the motorists to pull-over on the road shoulder when tired and sleepy to avoid risks like fatal crashes.
In January 2026, the ‘Drowsy Driving Prevention’ TV Commercials would run in all MMDA LEDs, including Buendia, Megamall, Guadix, Main Avenue, Munoz, and Quezon Avenue (northbound and southbound), as a public service announcement informing the public of safe behavior on the road.
A support to the ‘Drowsy Driving Prevention’ campaign is a support to healthier and more productive Filipinos. If you want to know about the campaign and sleep disorder, please feel free to reach out to PSSM at mobile number 0945 430 0316 or email address: pssmi@yahoo.com.