IT’s not just a party-list for drivers. It’s the party-list for motorists, passengers and pedestrians – essentially Filipinos alike.
During their road tour October 19 in Cagayan de Oro City, BTS Bayaning Tsuper nominees Alex Abaton, Jovit Moya and Manny Laxamana laid down their proposed legislations once elected in Congress next year.
Abaton said their priority would be to institutionalize road safety in basic education curricula all over the country.
Abaton said that if the government could quickly mobilize drills for fires and quakes which are rare incidents, road safety must also be on their radar since it involves thousands of deaths per year in the Philippines alone.
“It is an everyday occurrence here. According to the WHO, there are around 40 people at an average per day who are injured or killed in this country due to road-related incidents,” he said, referring to the World Health Organization.
Of the casualties, around 2,000 died in road crashes here yearly.
For his part, Laxamana said that elementary school parks in other countries such as Finland and Japan mimic a city block where children are taught when to cross, where to walk etc.
“In Japan, you can send your kindergatener to school without worry. Dito sa Pilipinas, may kasama na ngang yaya, sila pang dalawa ang nabubunggo,” Moya said.
Abaton said that if road safety is already embedded in basic education, it would even cut down the lecture component in driving schools as license applicants had already learned this when they were young.
The three nomineee are also critical of what they dub as outdated laws regarding road accidents.”
Pag nakabunggo ka ng isang lasing nga kalit lang nitabok sa d’an, ikaw pa ang nagkasala. In other countries, you are allowed to go home while the investigation is ongoing. Dito, presohon ka agad-agad,” Moya said in English, Filipino and Cebuano.
Moya’s extensive assignments in the Philipine National Police as a Special Action Force colonel has exposed him to various dialects in the country and along with that, the various needs of the constituents.
For his part, Abaton is bringing his experience in the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to lobby for improvements in existing government policies at its core – Congress.
Meanwhile, Laxamana – an entrepreneur by field – can contribute to the livelihood component of BTS Bayaning Tsuper which is planning to put up arcade-style assistance centers per region.
“Biyaheng pag-asa, sama na!” Moya said.
