President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno to maximize the campaign of the Philippine National Police (PNP) against drivers of overspeeding vehicles and other violators of traffic laws and regulations.
And as ordered, Puno directed the PNP’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG) headed by its director, Chief Supt. Orlando Mabutas, to intensify its visibility on national roads and other major throughfares and step up its crackdown against traffic law violators.
“Upon the instructions of the President, I have directed Chief Superintendent Mabutas of the HPG to step up its campaign against overspeeding motorists, drunk drivers and other violators of traffic laws,” Puno said.
The directive of the president was issued to Puno during the Tuesday Cabinet meeting in Sarangani province. From January to March of this year, the HPG has recorded a total of 9,276 vehicular accidents, of which over a third or close to 3,000 cases were caused by overspeeding.
Because of this number, the president has expressed alarm over the latest vehicular accident which involves two passenger buses, which collided head-on in Lucena City in the province of Quezon last Sunday. The accident caused the death of nine people while 41 were injured in the accident.
HPG data reveals that passenger buses placed third in the list of cases involving road accidents, with 991 cases in the January-March period. Also, cars were involved in the most number of traffic accidents with 3,698 cases, followed by motorcycles with 2,529 cases.
Under the Republic Act 4136, the allowable maximum speed is 80 km/hr for passenger cars and motorcycles and 50 km/hr for trucks and Traffic Code are 80 km/hr for passenger cars and motorcycles, and 50 km/hr for trucks and buses in open country roads “with no blind corners not closely bordered by habitation.” On “through” streets or boulevards clear of traffic with no blind corners, the limits are 40 km/hr for passenger cars and motorcycles and 30 km/hr for trucks and buses .
Meanwhile, city and municipal with light traffic and not designates as through streets, the speed limit among cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses is 30 km/hr. For crowded streets “approaching intersections at blind corners, passing school zones, passing other vehicles which are stationary or for similar dangerous circumstances,” maximum allowable speeds are 30 km/hr for cars and motorcycles and 20 km/hr for trucks and buses.
The government of Gloria Arroyo is plaqued by corruption, we hope that the new government under Aquino would be much better.~,*