Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon urged road safety advocates to assist the government in overhauling a “broken system” to make Philippine roads safer.
“The President’s message is that we have to change this, and he gave his green light to go all-out to reform the broken system. The first step is really to acknowledge that the system is not working,” Dizon said during a dialogue with road safety advocates.
Among the road safety issues that need to be addressed are the non-appearance of individuals during driver’s license medical check-ups, application examination, emission and roadworthiness tests; mandatory drug testing for PUV drivers; comprehensive practical driving tests as well as inconsistent and poor instructional practices in theoretical driving courses.
Other issues also include license conversion and renewal loopholes, inadequate coverage or fraud in insurance policies, lenient traffic violation penalties, and ineffective traffic enforcement.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is advancing the adoption of the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2023-2028 through its five-pronged strategy to reduce road crash fatalities and injuries.
Meanwhile, Dizon said the rehabilitation of EDSA is expected to start by mid-June this year.
He said that the DOTr, the Department of Public Works and Highway, and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority are finalizing plans for the EDSA Rebuild Program.
“The DPWH said that the target date for some of them, because there are so many things that need to be fixed and improved, is mid-June. There is no exact date yet, but the target is mid-June,” Dizon said.
“That needs to start now, as the President said, it’s been 45 years since Edsa was renovated. That’s why we’re not calling it Edsa rehab, we’re calling it Edsa rebuild. Because it’s Built Better More,” he added.
He also said that the agency is in discussions with San Miguel Corp. to suspend toll collection in parts of the Skyway while the EDSA rebuilding is ongoing.
“We need San Miguel’s cooperation to make a section of Skyway toll-free, offering an alternative route to EDSA,” Dizon said.