Motorists warned on Quezon accidents

LUCENA CITY—The top provincial police official here asked transport operators to ensure the road worthiness of their buses and to volunteer their drivers for drug testing amid the series of road accidents along the sections of the Maharlika and Quirino highways in Quezon province.

Senior Supt. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, Quezon police director, said he and other police officers would visit the offices of transport companies to ask their owners to ensure their vehicles remain in good running condition at all times.

“There are only two factors in every vehicular accident—human or mechanical error. We have to check on that to prevent deaths and injuries,” he said on Friday.

Since Dec. 21 last year, at least five major accidents have occurred in the Quezon section of these national roads, killing one and injuring over a hundred passengers.

Ylagan said he would also advise public transport operators to submit their drivers for drug testing, “for the benefit of their company and the safety of their passengers.”

Drug testing for driver’s license applicants was scrapped after Republic Act No. 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act took effect in June 2013.

The revised driver licensing policy of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) was also suspended in November last year after some senators objected to the requirement that applicants for a professional driver’s license should first secure a clearance from the police and the National Bureau of Investigation.

Henry Buzar, Quezon disaster risk reduction and management council officer, also called on the LTO to conduct strict screening of license applicants.

He asked the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to stop the illegal practice of public transport companies to allow “colorum” vehicles to use their government permits under the illegal “kabit” (franchise sharing) system.

Ylagan said he would ask the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to regularly monitor the presence of important road signs along major highways in the province, particularly in dangerous spots.

The DPWH has long been complaining of rampant theft of steel road signs, which often turned up in junk shops.

Police argued that if the signs were stolen, these should be immediately replaced by the DPWH so as not to endanger the lives of motorists.

“The DPWH should also ensure that all road construction projects are well lighted at night and have the mandatory flagman to guide the flow of vehicles,” Ylagan said.

The 150-kilometer Maharlika Highway runs from the Quezon-Laguna boundary in Tiaong town down to Calauag town in the Quezon-Bicol boundary. Road accidents along the highway, mostly involving buses and motorcycles, occur with alarming regularity.

On Thursday, 12 persons were hurt when two DLTB buses collided in Barangay Sto. Cristo in Sariaya town.

On New Year’s Day, a wayward Raymond bus crashed into a roadside restaurant, also in the same village, killing a 19-year-old female worker and injuring 41 passengers.

On Jan. 3, a Mega Bus bound for Bicol fell into a 10-foot ravine along the Maharlika Highway in Calauag, hurting 24 people.

On Dec. 29, three Bicol-bound travelers were hurt when their car slammed into a tree and careened down a 3-meter ravine along Quirino Highway in Tagkawayan, the highway’s link to Bicol.

On Dec. 21, another bus from Albay bound for Metro Manila also fell into a ravine in Barangay San Vicente, Tagkawayan, injuring 55 passengers. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon