Group’s blood-letting project prepares for road crash cases this year
MANILA, Philippines — A blood-letting project in preparation for road crashes for this year will be held on May 6, according to a commuters’ group on Tuesday.
National Center for Commuter Safety and Protection chair Elvira Medina said that the project will be participated by drivers, members of transport group Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP), and motor-hailing service Angkas.
“Ito po ay in preparation for the perceived and projected road crashes that happen during summer up to the Christmas season natin. Alam po natin, yan po ang pinakamalakas at pinakamaraming road crashes,” said Medina in a forum by Quezon City Journalists.
(This is in preparation for the perceived and projected road crashes that happen during summer up to our Christmas season. We know that most road crashes happen during those times.)
READ: Rise in road crash deaths of kids is a rights issue — DOH chief
Medina shared that LTOP and Angkas have registered over 700 and 1,000 volunteers, respectively.
READ: DOH: 703 road accidents recorded in 15 days
She also said that the Philippine Red Cross will train the volunteers to be certified first aid responders.
“Our vision is to have first responders on the road 24/7 kasi ang first responders po natin ngayon nasa mga istasyon, nasa mga barangay pero wala sa kalsada,” Medina added.
(Our vision is to have first responders on the road 24/7 because our first responders are currently in stations, and barangays, but not on the roads.)
She emphasized that if their vision comes true, the level of safety on roads will improve.
During the Christmas period from December 22, 2024 to January 6, 2025, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded a total of 703 road accidents. This was 30.6 percent higher than the cases from the same period in the previous year.
DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa previously said that there had been a 25.6% increase in road crashes per year, of which 72 percent are males and majority involved are young children and young adults. He cited Philippine Statistics Authority data where 12,241 road crash deaths were recorded in 2022.
