DILG to LGU: Continue road clearing, ensure safety of kids attending in-person classes
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The road clearing operations of the local government units (LGUs) should continue to ensure the safety of children as face-to-face classes are expected to resume, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Friday.
According to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, LGUs must sustain road safety programs like the road clearing operations and the ban of tricycles in national highways to minimize accidents.
Año said that a huge chunk of the barangays continue to follow the call to rid roads of obstructions — 38,690 out of the 41,365 barangays involved in the operations or 93.53 percent — as of data released on May 6.
“The Road Clearing Ops and ‘no trike on national highway’ campaign have to be sustained. Hindi puwedeng ningas-kugon [We should not be good only at the start],” the DILG Secretary said in a statement.
“We urge our LGUs to continue and sustain their successes to protect our children from road accidents, lalo na ngayong papalapit na ang face-to-face classes [especially now that face-to-face classes are slated to resume],” he added.
Año said that the enforcement of the ban on tricycles and pedicabs on national roads is meant to secure children also, as these modes of transportation are often used by students going to and from their respective schools
“Kadalasang tricycle ang sinasakyan ng mga bata sa pagpasok sa eskuwela kaya naman mahalaga na tiyaking ng mga LGUs na ligtas ang daan at sumusunod ang mga drayber sa mga limitasyon nila,” Año explained
(Children going to school usually use tricycles as a form of transportation that’s why it is important for LGUs to assure that roads are safe and that drivers observe their limitations.)
The outgoing DILG chief also called on the newly-elected officials to formulate policies that would ensure roads are safe for people, especially children.
“As the influx of children travel on roadways going and back from their schools, children are exposed to road accidents. These policies on road safety can save lives and reduce road collision deaths and injuries,” Año noted.
Año’s statement on road safety comes after the controversial issue faced by a sports utility vehicle driver who bumped and ran over a security guard in Mandaluyong City.
The owner of the vehicle who is also believed to be the one behind the wheel during the incident on June 5, was identified as a certain Jose Antonio Sanvicente. Last Wednesday, Sanvicente surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP) after calls from the police leadership to face the cases against him.
READ: Security guard injured after hit-and-run incident in Mandaluyong | BREAKING: SUV owner involved in Mandaluyong hit-and-run case surrenders
Mandaluyong police recently filed frustrated murder and abandoning the victim charges against Sanvicente, who is no longer eligible to drive and hold a driver’s license after the Land Transportation Office (LTO) revoked it. With reports from Xander Dave Ceballos, INQUIRER.net trainee
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