The Highway Patrol Group or HPG particularly in Central Visayas has partnered with 2,000 motorists to help them in their information drive for safe driving protocols in Cebu Island and prevent road accidents such as this February 18, 2021 road collision between a bus and a van in Mandaue City. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least 2,000 motorists from different motorist associations in Cebu Island are tapped to become force multipliers by the Highway Patrol Group in Central Visayas (HPG-7) in promoting safe driving protocols.
These selected motorists would not necessarily join the HPG in their operations, but they would help in gathering and disseminating information on road safety in their respective areas, said Police Major Michael Gingoyon, Cebu provincial chief of Highway Patrol Group (HPG), in a phone interview today, March 5.
Gingoyon said that with this partnership, they hoped to lessen the increasing road accidents in Cebu.
He, however, did not cite figures of the accidents in the Cebu.
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“Ang nakita man gud sa taas nga usa sa reason kay tungod sa alarming growth and increase sa road accidents…mao na gi create ning grupoha,” he said.
(They observed that one of the reasons is the alarming increase of road accidents prompting them to create this group.)
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Gingoyon said that for the last few years, road crash had been the fourth leading cause of death in the Philippines.
He said that it was also the number one cause of children fatality with an age bracket of 19 to 29 years old.
He also did not cite where he got the data for his statement.
Gingoyon said that the selected motorists were mostly members of motorcycle groups in Metro Cebu.
He also said that these motorists complied with the requirements of the HPG-7 for them to become their partners such as having a police clearance, their official receipt and their certificate of registration among others.
/dbs