Lao says LTO, DPWH partly to be blamed for accidents

THE chairman of the city council’s committee on  public utilities said the Land Transportation  Office  (LTO), and the Department of Public Works and  Highways  (DPWH) were partly to be blamed for the seven deaths and four injuries during the highway rampage in Cugman on Palm Sunday.

Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. said the LTO and the DPWH failed to performs their tasks that could have prevented the tragedy.

Lao said there is a speed limit rule on the highway which the LTO has not been eforcing.

“Na-a man untay bala-od sa LTO nga speed limit 40 kilometers per hour  ra ang dapat sa highway within the city proper pero wala man tay nadungog nga nandakop sila sa mga drivers nga   nag-overspeeding,” he said.

On Tuesday, the elder brother of killer truck driver Freddie Talisayan, who has had too much alcohol to drink, said the latter drove the six-wheeler at some 100 kph on the highway.

Lao said his committee would summon LTO regional director Oscar Salcedo so he could tell councilors why the speed limit rule on highways were not being enforced.

He said there was a need for  speedometers in order to catch violators of the speed limit rule.

“Didto sa Davao, Quezon City ug Valenzuela, na-a nay ilang speedometers didto. Magpatawag kog meeting sa committee kay kon walay  speedometers ang LTO, atong ma-propose nga kita sa syudad magpalit tag ato ana para madakop dayon  kanang mga drivers nga magpakusog ug padaagan,” Lao said.

He said he also wanted to know from the LTO if it has started using breath analyzers here against drivers believed to be intoxicated.

Lao said it was the responsibility of the DPWH to provide reflectorized warning signs on the highway.

“Ang DPWH, wala poy ilang  reflectorized nga nga signages sa speed limit daplin sa national highway sa atong syudad. Dapat na-a gyud unta  na,” he said.

Lao said he has noted that there were plenty of obstructions and traffic hazards along the highway.

He said the “center islands” along CM Recto Ave. and in the highway stretch in Kauswagan have no reflectors.

“Kuyaw kaayo nang atong mga Center Island kay halos dili makita kay walay reflector,” Lao said.

Lao said the committee would also summon officials of the DPWH,  Land Transportation  Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Highway Patrol  Group (HPG), Roads and  Traffic Administration (RTA), and the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) to its April 20 meeting.

Meanwhile, Chief Insp. Evan Viñas, chief of the Cugman police, said the lack if not, absence of streetlights along the highway in Cugman factored in the Palm Sunday “accidents.”

“Gikan sa Zone 1 dinhi sa Barangay Cugman padulong dinhi sa atong police  station, walay suga,  kuyaw gyud sa disgrasya, labi na kon  gabi-e, labi na kanang motor nga itom, dili dayon makita,” Viñas said.

He noted that the first motorcycle rammed by the six-wheel truck was black.

Viñas said there was a need for government to provide more streetlights especially along the curving section of the highway in Cugman in order to prevent accidents from taking place.

City engineer  Roland Pacuribot said that while city hall recently invested P19 million for street lights, the highway is the responsibility of the DPWH.

Pacuribot said city hall’s investment was intended to save on maintenance costs.

“Kadtong  kara-an nga  sodium lights nga tag 250 watts, atong  gipulihan to og LED nga 150 watts  ra, ug  mas hayag pa  kay sa 250 watts nga sodium,” he said.

But the city hall street lighting project, he said, was not for the highway from Bugo to Iponan which is the jurisdiction of the national government.

“Ila man na sa DPWH ang national  highway. Sila na ana ang mag-install ana ug suga pero ang syudad gihapon  magbayad sa kuryente,” Pacuribot said. (nitz arancon)