The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Rep. Rodolfo Biazon has filed a resolution seeking a congressional inquiry into the implementation of existing traffic laws in order to improve road safety in the country.
Biazon urged the House committee on transportation to summon officials of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the private sector to shed light on the matter.
Citing data from the Department of Health (DOH), Biazon said road accidents have become the fourth leading cause of deaths in the Philippines so there is a need to study the design and construction of roads, including road signs, to determine if these are consistent with existing laws and international standards.
Records from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) revealed that 171,813 motor vehicles were involved in road crashes and 90,258 road accidents in Metro Manila from January to December 2014, which caused the death of 444 persons and injuried to 20,901 others.
The records also showed there are around 7,521 road accidents and 248 crashes daily which, according to investigators, were due to human error because of the drivers’ lack of proper road-safety education and training, the lawmaker added.
“The death and injury of persons including damage to property ,resulting from road accidents is costing the Philippines $19 billion annually according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of the Philippines’s Regional Safety Program,” Biazon said.
“Once and for all, the issue of road safety has to be addressed, as records would show that more often than not, the victims of road accidents are either innocent passengers or pedestrians whose families are made to suffer the consequences of circumstances beyond their control,” Biazon said.