Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email

Transportation safety priorities?

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email

The decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the measure creating an independent body to be tasked with improving transportation was met with disappointment from private sector groups such as the Joint Foreign Chambers, Safe Travel Alliance and the International Airport Transport Association that pushed for the establishment of the Philippine Transportation Safety Board that was hoped to provide better transportation safety measures and standards for the country.

Marcos Jr. vetoed the PTSB measure on grounds that the proposed functions of the agency were already being “undertaken by the different agencies.”

The private sector groups emphasize that the separate body was still needed because of concerns over conflict of interest. “Presently, different agencies handle different sectors of transportation with regard to accident investigations, however, there are limitations on the ability of the investigating agencies to delve deeper and find forensic evidence on the real cause of accidents or by witnesses of the accidents,” their joint statement added.

Move As One Coalition co-convenor Robert Siy agreed with the private sector groups that a PTSB would be beneficial for the transportation sector and commuters. He stressed that it being able to recommend road safety measures would lead to “huge savings in healthcare costs” due to “fewer injuries and fatalities from road crashes.”

The reasoning behind the veto cannot be faulted, but there is a reason why groups are calling for a PTSB and if the proposed functions of the new body are already being undertaken by different agencies, then it should follow that the country’s transportation sector should be safer, which is unfortunately still far from the truth.

If a PTSB is unnecessary and the different government agencies responsible for keeping all forms of transportation in the country safe are committed to doing that part of their job, the Filipino public will have to trust that that the Marcos administration will still make transportation safety a priority by holding the different transport agencies responsible and accountable for that important goal, even if the bill creating the PTSB has been vetoed.*

ARCHIVES

Read Article by date

March 2024
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Get your copy of the Visayan Daily Star everyday!

Avail of the FREE 30-day trial.