LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines—Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno expressed alarm over a sharp increase in the number of traffic accidents in the country, especially in Quezon province.
“There is something wrong here,” he said. Government data showed that the number of accidents, many of them fatal, has increased by 30 to 40 percent, he said.
Puno, during a meeting with transport officials and players here, also ordered the police to strictly enforce speed limits on highways and roads.
“It seems that our highways have now become racetracks for these speed maniacs,” said Puno, who inspected the site of a bus collision in the city that killed at least nine people recently.
Director General Jesus Verzosa, Philippine National Police chief, vowed to add more muscle to the implementation of road safety rules.
Verzosa immediately instructed his men to enforce traffic laws, particularly on national highways.
Chief Superintendent Orlando Mabutas, Highway Patrol Group (HPG) director, said in a briefing that a total of 6,845 accidents had already been recorded across the country from January to July.
Overspeeding caused at least 2,161 cases, followed by bad overtaking with 1,971, and bad turning, 1,732.
From 2007 to July 2009, “human error” was the biggest factor in the accidents, said Mabutas.
The Department of Public Works and Highways urged village officials and the PNP to protect road signs and other safety devices from thieves along the Maharlika Highway.
A top DPWH official blamed the loss of these signs and devices to theft for a series of fatal accidents on the highway.
Ronel Tan, DPWH-Quezon 4th District chief, said the department had been reporting the theft of road signs and safety devices, “but it seems the police, and even the village officials, can’t stop it.”
Thieves have detached steel railings and road signs and sold these to junk shops, Tan said.
Another DPWH official, however, blamed the increase in the number of accidents on Maharlika on reckless drivers.
Bonifacio Seguit, DPWH director in Calabarzon, said the Land Transportation Office should be strict in screening applicants for driving licenses. –Delfin Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
