SAN JOSE CITY—Public Works Secretary Mark Villar has ordered a road safety audit of all national roads amid last week’s deadly road accident in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija that claimed the lives of 34 passengers and injured scores of others.
DPWH Region 3 director Antonio Molano said the order was made by Villar to all district engineers when they met during the recent convention of the District Engineers’ League of the Philippines.
Molano said the road portion leading to Dalton Pass in Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya was the first to be covered by the order.
He said George Santos, district engineer of northern Nueva Ecija, had been tasked to undertake the road safety audit.
Molano said the DPWH would also put up a continuous, 20-meter long concrete barrier in Barangay Capintalan, Carranglan where the ill-fated bus fell into a ravine after the driver lost control of the steering wheel.
“After inspecting the site, it has been determined that what we should put up is a continous concrete barrier, not a segmented one,” he said.
At the same time, Molano said he could not say if the contractor that built the three-meter concrete barrier in the accident site was criminally liable as there was a gap in the barrier, leading to the accident.
“Under the procurement law, if a public infrastructure was destroyed, whoever caused its destruction should be held liable,” he said, hinting at the bus company.
He added a speed limit should be imposed in the area to prevent overspeeding by drivers.
Molano said the Road Board under the DPWH was also making its own road audit to make sure all national roads have the appropriate signages to serve as guide of motorists and drivers.