Tens of thousands of Filipinos die and are injured and disabled every year due to road crashes, yet the issue of road safety is hardly viewed as one worthy of public attention.
Hoping to make it part of the political agenda in time for next year’s elections, Vera Files, in partnership with the World Health Organization, will hold a road safety media forum “Looking Both Ways: A Media Forum on Road Safety and Public Policy” at the Peninsula Manila on Dec. 4, 2018.
“The loss of lives and injuries caused by road crashes exact a heavy toll not only on the personal lives of the victims but also on the community and government resources. These are unnecessary burdens because road crashes are preventable,” Vera Files president Ellen Tordesillas said.
“The importance that political leaders give to road safety goes a long way because usually, the public take their cue from the government,” she added.
Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson on the senate committee on public services, and former Metro Manila Development Authority chair Francis Tolentino, both gunning for a senate seat, are expected to speak at the event.
Poe and Tolentino, alongside a select group of public officials, road safety advocates and transport groups, will discuss the current state of road safety laws and bills in the country, the gaps that need to be addressed, and legal reforms necessary to make road safety a priority transport, public health and economic issue.
The forum also aims to shed light on other concerns such as the traffic crisis gripping highly urbanized cities, the implementation of the PUV modernization program, and the quality of Philippine roads.
