SAFETY FIRST

HOLY WEEK 2018

As the Holy Week exodus descends on the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) starting today, government agencies in Cebu and Central Visayas have joined forces to make sure that safety is the first priority for travelers and bus companies.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III himself led the inspection of buses bound for southern Cebu yesterday, March 28, to ensure that the units were in good condition.

Davide, a native of the southern Cebu town of Argao, 70.5 kilometers from Cebu City, also reminded drivers to observe road ethics and refrain from speeding.

“We expect many people to travel back to their hometowns. We are doing this to ensure that all public transportation vehicles are roadworthy. We also advise (drivers) not to hurry in driving to avoid road accidents,” said Davide.

The governor along with officials of different transportation offices and the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) held a joint press conference on Oplan Ligtas Biyahe 2018 at the CSBT Conference Room to tackle issues on safety and roadworthiness of vehicles.

Davide also stressed the importance of following a speed limit on Cebu roads to avoid accidents.

“From what I have observed, we do not follow a speed limit here. It is about that we adapt (it). Our primary concern is the safety of passengers,” he said.

Davide said the speed limit should be strictly enforced, and asked the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to look into this matter and implement it.
Senior Supt. Norberto Babagay, regional chief of PNP-HPG, said they deployed most of all Highway Patrol personnel along the highway of Cebu province.

“We maximize our personnel for Holy Week (inspection and monitoring). Most of our personnel are on the roads and they use motorcycles so they can assist with traffic problems,” he said.

Babagay said they were also looking into incidents such as carnapping, robbery and hijacking which can potentially happen on the highway.

About 39 HPG personnel are deployed throughout the region, giving assistance to the police in every local government units (LGUs), said Police Senior Insp. Maria Alicia Valera.

Overloading

Babagay said drivers would usually speed in the early morning hours but with the onset of the Holy Week, heavy traffic considerably slowed down.
Still, drivers were reminded to observe traffic rules and bear in mind the safety of the passengers, Babagay noted.

Officials of the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) also reminded bus operators and drivers to avoid overloading their vehicles on Holy Week.

LTO-7 Director Victor Caindec said they implemented stricter rules on the overloading of buses since it is a common problem during holidays.

“We need everybody to cooperate. We are trying our best to get everybody to follow the right way,” Caindec said.

Caindec said they tried to avoid apprehending buses while these were on the road so they would not cause inconvenience to the passengers.

However, LTO-7 will not tolerate drivers that caused overloading or speeding.

LTO-7 Assistant Director Alita Pulga said the agency would deploy personnel along the highway to inspect the road safety of the buses, particularly overloaded buses that would put the lives of their passengers in danger.

“It does not mean that if a bus was already inspected at the terminal or at their garage, LTO is already satisfied,” she said. “We will not stop there. We still have to conduct road side inspection. Meaning to say we will still inspect those buses on the road.”

Cautious

Julie Flores, president of the Cebu Provincial Bus and Mini Bus Operators Cooperative, said drivers are now cautious in the conduct of their jobs especially that is now easier for people to report abusive drivers on social media.

“We remind our drivers to not be reckless and to avoid counterflowing,” said Flores.

Flores assured commuters that drivers are well-rested, citing that there are at least three drivers for every two buses or mini buses.
They also limit their duty hours after two round trips.

“They are not exhausted because we limit their trips. After that, we check on the unit and another driver will take on the unit. We can assure the safety of the riding public and that our vehicles are roadworthy,” he added.

If there are rude drivers, Flores advised passengers to report these encounters.

“They should (file) complaints against overspeeding drivers and arrogant conductors,” he said.

Help desks

Caindec said they deputized personnel from Highway Patrol Group (HPG), Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO), Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) to help them with the inspections and strict implementation of road safety rules.

“We talked on how to address the surge and safety of passengers so we have inspector teams composed of our personnel and the other deputized personnel,” Caindec said.

Pulga said LTO personnel were deployed throughout Central Visayas to check vehicles to ensure the safety of the riding public.

“You will be seeing them at the help desk at terminals, seaports and airports. These are places where the passengers can also air out their complaints,” Pulga said.

Both LTO and LTFRB distributed passengers’ complaint forms at the CSBT on Wednesday. Complaints can be directed to the LTO Facebook page or contact 254-3122 and 0918 8073 504. While LTFRB can be reached through their Facebook page or contact 0923 2809 984 and 0918 6687 256.
In Cebu, Pulga said that LTO-7 personnel were deployed in two shifts (6 p.m. – 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. – 10 p.m.) starting yesterday, March 28, until Easter Sunday, April 1.