The Philippine National Police Regional Office 1 has recorded a total of 1,521 vehicular traffic incidents (VTI) or road crash incidents from January 1, 2023 to May 9, 2023 of this year as revealed by Acting Deputy Regional Director for Operation – PCol. Christopher T. Acop, during the “3rd Kapihan Sa DOH” with the theme “Motoristang Rsponsable, Safety First Lagi Para sa Healthy Pilipinas” held in San Fernando City, La union on May 12, 2023.
“For 2022 po ay mayroon po tayong total na 3,257 road crash incidents at patuloy po ang pagtaas nito ngayong taon. Meron po tayong average of 63 VTIs last year. For this year, for the month of January to April, ang average po ay 69 VTIs. At last week lang po ay bigla itong tumaas ng 83 VTIs.”
“We have already established more police posts and deployed police mobile patrols. They will be patrolling our streets and roads 24/7. Ang objective po natin dito ay to deter vehicular incidents dahil pag may police visibility mas sumusunod ang mga motorista sa batas trapiko, Acop stated.
The province with the greatest number of VTIs vehicular incidents is Pangasinan with 984 followed by La union with 303 VTIs, Ilocos Sur with 159 and Ilocos Norte – 75.
Motorcycles top the list of VTIs with 1.123, 4-wheel vehicles with 996, tricycles with 366 and 6-wheelers and above recorded 75 VTIs.
Road accidents among male drivers are higher with 332 while female drivers with 167. Most of the road incidents occurred are with driver’s license – 1,894. Only 516 are without licensed.
LTO – Transportation Regulation Officer, Patricia Mendoza, who is also one of the resource speakers during the kapihan said that the LTO regional office has already instituted reforms in the processing of driver’s license. “Mas mahigpit na po ang mga offices ng LTO sa releasing at processing ng driver’s license mula sa student hanggang sa professional,”
“Everyone will undergo seminars on traffic laws, rules and regulations on the use of road, kasama dito ang education on road signs upang malaman nila ang mga ibig sabihin ng mga markings na nasa ating mga kalsada at hindi nila ito ipagwalang-bahala para sa kanilang kaligtasan at sa iba pang mga motorista,” Mendoza explained.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways – Region 1, represented by Engineer Josefina Oamar of the Maintenance Division, assured that the agency will continue to implement improvements along national roads including the repair and widening of bridges and major thoroughfares.
The Department of Health – Ilocos Region’s “Kapihan sa DOH” is held every second Friday of the month. It is an avenue to discuss the accomplishments, challenges, and concerns of the health sector together with its partner agencies and aims to further improve its performance and ways through trust and collaboration among the members of the sector including the media.
