By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent .
THE Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) looked past the dangers a stalled crane truck posed in the middle of the highway in Gusa last week until the accident that killed government engineer Ifour Manduro on Friday, RTA chief Nonito Oclarit admitted.
Engr. Oclarit also admitted that he was informed about the problems caused by the crane truck only on Friday. But by the time he learned about it, the 51-year old Manduro, an engineer at the public works department’s district office in El Salvador City, was already dead.
The problem was “overlooked,” according to Oclarit who then passed on the blame to a radio operator who supposedly failed to relay the information about the crane truck that conked on the Gusa highway on Tuesday.
He faulted the radio operator without naming the worker, saying he could have looked for a way to remove the traffic obstruction had he been informed about it earlier.
“Na-overlook ra gyud to nga information gikan sa among law enforcers kay na-busy pud ang among radio operator. Mao tong nasayod ko nga naay crane nga nadaot diha sa highway sa Gusa karon (Friday) ra gyong buntag,” Oclarit said.
He said he was also busy last week but he did not elaborate.
The crane truck bogged down on the fast lane of an unlighted portion of four-lane highway on Tuesday. Three days later, at around 1:30 am on Friday, Manduro’s driven pick-up truck crashed into the rear of the 12-wheeler. A video clip circulating on social media suggests that Manduro was killed on impact.
Oclarit said RTA enforcers told him on Friday that the driver of the crane truck was waiting for the company mechanic from Cebu.
“Kinahanglan gyud kuno nga maayo ang makina sa maong crane kay dili man diay matoyok ang ligid ana kon dili mag-andar ang makina kay hydraulic man diay na nga klasi heavy equipment,” said Oclarit.
Oclarit said he immediately sent RTA personnel to man the area so as to avoid a repeat of the accident. He said they stayed there until the crane truck could be towed away by its owner.
He said he also instructed RTA personnel to put more warning signs near the crane truck.
“Pero bisan pag naay atong warning sign kon kusog sab ang dagan sa pick-up, dako gyud ang tsansa nga ma-accident siya,” Oclarit said.
He explained that the RTA was ill-equipped to handle a situation like that.
“Naa may atong towing truck pero gamay ra. Dili makada-og ana kay dako man kaayo na,” said Oclarit.
After the accident, he said, the RTA talked to a representative of the crane truck’s owner, Makati Development Corp., to send the mechanic as soon as possible.
On Friday night, hours after the tragic accident, the crane truck was finally moved away, hours after the wrecked pick-up truck was towed away.
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
