JV Ejercito bats for infra dev’t, safe pathways to reduce motorcycle accidents
May 09, 2023
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Tuesday
said the national government needs to prioritize infrastructure development and
the construction of safe pathways to reduce motorcycle accidents in the
country.
Ejercito said many road improvement projects,
especially those situated in the country’s urban centers, tend to ignore the
safety and convenience of motorcycle and bicycle riders
“For some of our roads, I don’t see the
rationale of the DPWH for their drainage improvement. Before the drainage used
to be along the sidewalks. Now, they use the road. Sometimes, it’s uneven, with
the manholes na nakausli,” he said.
“If you’re a motorcycle rider and you only
have two wheels, you can’t blame them for trying (to avoid these obstacles).
Kakabig talaga sa kaliwa at kanan ‘yan. Ako rin, because I also bike. Bikes are
more sensitive,” he added.
The Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine
National Police has recorded more than 4,000 motorcycle crashes throughout the
country within the first quarter of 2023 alone.
An advocate of alternative transportation and
cyclist safety, the lawmaker from San Juan said he has filed two bills seeking
to address these concerns.
“We need to improve our roads, especially in
the metropolis. That’s why I’m pushing for a master plan na talagang
tuloy-tuloy. We also have to improve our safe pathways,” he said.
In July, Ejercito filed Senate Bill No. 158,
which seeks to create and institutionalize a Comprehensive Infrastructure
Development Master Plan.
The said plan, which will be drafted by the
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and monitored by a Joint
Congressional Oversight Committee, would cover several areas of development:
transportation and logistics, energy, water resources, information and
communications technology, social infrastructure, agri-fisheries modernization
and food logistics, and asset preservation and maintenance strategies.
He also authored Senate Bill No. 393, which
hopes to establish a network of pop-up bicycle lanes and emergency pathways to
promote safe alternative mobility.
The said measure, along with other similar bills, were
substituted by Senate Bill No. 1290, which seeks to institutionalize active
transport by establishing a safe pathways network of bike lanes, walkways, and
slow streets.
