Will the LTO enforce a ban on dumptrucks?

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), under Sec. Manuel “Mar” Roxas has grounded all the vessels of the Island Shipping Corporation in the aftermath of the sinking of the M/V Island Fast Craft that sunk off the Lauis ledge of Talisay City after it was gutted by fire. Three persons died in that accident. You can very well say that this incident is the first under the watch of Sec. Mar Roxas and I’m sure grounding these vessels was done to prevent a repeat of this incident.

But now that Sec. Mar Roxas is DOTC chief, it is time for him to support our call for the creation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is a constitutional body similar to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that has a free hand on investigating all air, land and sea disasters. The Philippines has been known for our infamous maritime disasters, yet the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) in charge of sea vessels should not act as judge, jury and executioner in these incidents simply because there is no other group tasked to do this job.

Accidents do happen and when it does, it wakes us to certain realities that such things could have been avoided. A case in point is the recent accident in Barili where a group of mourners rode at the back of a dump truck to bring their dead to the cemetery and this resulted in an accident where, instead of burying one person, ten of the mourners also had to be buried.

In the aftermath of that accident, Land Transportation Office (LTO-7) Regional Director Regional Director Raul Aquilos issued an advisory to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) not to allow the use of dumptrucks to transport people. Of course, this advisory is akin to shutting the barn doors after the horse has been stolen. Come now, who would dare follow this LTO advisory? Perhaps a better question should be can the LTO enforce this advisory? If you ask me, this is a huge challenge for the LTO; after all, public safety is paramount.

No less than Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes has openly declared that he would still use dumptrucks to transport people. Just yesterday, The FREEMAN had on its front page a photo of a funeral cortege where we saw at least three cargo trucks loaded with people owned by the Naga City government. Also in yesterday’s The FREEMAN was an editorial entitled “Don’t ban people from dumptrucks” referring to the LTO directive as a “knee jerk” reaction to that accident. Is this really a “knee jerk” reaction by LTO?

So we’re really faced with a dilemma here whether or not the LTO can or should enforce its directives to assure the safety of our people? It seems that our mayors couldn’t care any less about the safety of their vehicles and has vowed to continue using them, especially in the far flung areas where more often than not, the only vehicle available is a cargo truck.

The problem really lies upon how often the government maintains its vehicles? Forty years ago, I had a World War II surplus Jeep which had on its dashboard a plate written with the words “Thursday: Maintenance Day.” It meant that that particular vehicle was not allowed to be used on Thursdays as it was in its weekly maintenance schedule. It just makes me wonder whether the motor pools of our local government units even care to follow a maintenance schedule for their trucks.

Meanwhile, a criminal case for reckless imprudence has been filed against Alwin Bayno, the driver of the dumptruck in the Barili accident who admitted that the dumptruck was having brake problems. He even requested for another dumptruck to be used. But since none was available, he had to go on using the dumptruck. So the question people would like to know is whether this driver is culpable for the accident or not? If anyone delayed the purchase of the parts needed for the dumptruck, perhaps that person should be held liable for the accident. In the meantime, we shall see whether or not the LTO would enforce their recent advisory. Abangan!

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THE BLACKBOX:

Yesterday morning, we played a tournament round of golf sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand headed by its Marketing Representative Mr. Dave de Jesus. With him was Ms. Esther Chin, Marketing Manager (for Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines) of Thailand’s Convention & Exhibition Bureau. It was a sort of exclusive golf tournament, catering to specific people who can help promote Thailand here in Cebu.This is something that our Department of Tourism (DoT) ought to be doing with our ASEAN neighbors. Thailand has changed its marketing logo from “Amazing Thailand to “Believe in Thailand.” I guess that’s because they now have a new Prime Minister.

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