CEBU, Philippines - At least seven accidents involving vehicles used in the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Cebu have been reported since the international gathering started on August 22.
These accidents were recorded by the Cebu City Transportation Office. Lawyer Rey Gealon, CCTO executive director, said three of these accidents have been settled amicably while the rest are still being investigated for possible filing of charges in court.
Gealon, however, said that the accidents involving APEC vehicles only resulted to minor damage. In fact, some of these accidents were amicably settled with the parties involved agreeing to charge the damage to their vehicle insurance.
Senior Police Officer 4 Porferio Lim Jr., traffic investigator, attributed the frequent accidents involving APEC vehicles to the driver’s unfamiliarity with the roads in Cebu. Lim said most of the drivers of APEC vehicles are not from Cebu.
According to Lim, most of the drivers are not familiar with the streets except for the ceremonial routes. Gealon reminded the drivers of the APEC vehicle that they are not exempted in the traffic rules and regulations.
Gealon said that APEC vehicle drivers should follow the rules and regulations in Cebu City and should not use their APEC plate numbers an excuse to disregard traffic rules.
He warned APEC service drivers that they will be apprehended if caught violating traffic regulations. According to Gealon, aside from the citation tickets, abusive drivers might be jailed depending on the gravity of their violation.
The Freeman earlier came up with an editorial about an APEC vehicle disregarding a red light at the corner of Sergio Osmeña Boulevard and Pope John Paul II Avenue even if it has no delegates onboard.
Police Regional Office-7 director Chief Superintendent Prudencio Tom Bañas immediately ordered an investigation to identify the driver, saying that driving an APEC vehicle “is not a license for them not to follow rules and regulations.” — /FPL (FREEMAN)