After Boljoon road accident, Davide urges LGUs, DepEd to invest in vehicles safe for passengers
The mini dump truck that fell on a roadside cliff in Boljoon town, southern Cebu. | Photo courtesy of Clark John Roma
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) should invest in vehicles that would make transportation from hinterland villages to the towns’ centers safer.
Cebu Vice Governor Hilario Davide III made this statement at the wake of the road mishap in Boljoon town, southern Cebu that killed nine individuals last Friday, July 19, 2019.
Read more: 9 killed after student-loaded dump truck falls off cliff in Boljoon
Among those who were killed when the dump truck owned by the Boljoon LGU driven by Danielo Nieres fell off a cliff were eight elementary school pupils and a parent who were all en route to the town center for a district meet.
Davide said aside from ensuring that the government vehicles used by the public are roadworthy, the LGUs in Cebu should also look into providing a safer mode of transportation for their constituents.
A dump truck is defined as an automotive truck for the transportation of bulk material that has a body which tilts to dump its contents. It isn’t supposed to be used for ferrying passengers, as what Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said in an earlier interview with CDN Digital.
Read more: Garcia: Dump trucks should not be used as school buses
“Ang mga LGUs should also invest anang mga sakyanan and how they can address the transportation sa kabukiran,” said Davide.
(LGU’s should invest on safe vehicles and how they can address the transportation in the hinterland villages.)
Davide said although there is a standing memorandum from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that prohibits the use of dump trucks to transport residents, the lack of vehicles in the towns forces them to still use the dump trucks to ferry passengers from the hinterland villages during events.
“Ang problema gyud kining ka-minus sa sakyanan sa kabukiran, mao ni ang mga local government units mapugos gyud og pagamit ana kay wala may lain unya morequest man gyud ang mga schools pananglitan,” said Davide.
(It all boils down to the shortage of vehicles in the upland areas. The local government units are forced to use dump trucks to ferry people because they don’t have anything else to use when the schools request for a vehicle.)
Davide said the Department of Education (DepEd) may also consider providing at least one school bus per town in order to ensure safer transportation of students in ging to the education department’s organized events.
Read more: Cebu province to shoulder hospitalization, burial expenses of Boljoon accident victims
He added that the towns can opt to partner with the private sector in sourcing for means to realize a safer transport system for their constituents.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, during her visit at the wake of the nine victims, said the provincial government will shoulder the burial and hospital expenses of the fatalities and the injured victims. /bmjo
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