By Argyll Geducos
President Rodrigo Duterte said overspeeding on the road should be controlled because of the number of deaths it causes, which he claimed can be compared to a massacre.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a speech Friday in Cotabato City, Duterte said drivers of vehicles, especially large trucks, should be careful because large numbers of people might die when they over-speed.
"Pati yung truck, i-control ninyo ang speed. Alam niyo ang disgrasya ngayon? Kung gaano ang patay (Truck drivers, you should control your speed. Do you know how many people die when there's an accident)? Ten, twenty?" he said.
"It has to stop. It is a very... it's almost an adventure ngayon kung magsakay ka ng truck. Tsaka ang patay mag-abot na ng 20, 22 (when you ride a truck nowadays. The death toll reaches 20, 22). It's no longer acceptable to me," he added.
"Ang numbers ng patay, no longer--hindi na nakakatuwa. Hindi na magandang basahin. Parang massacre na (The number of dead people -- this is not acceptable. It's not good to read about. It's like a massacre). Almost every day," he said.
Duterte said police officers should watch for overspeeding vehicles but reminded them not to take bribes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) counts the Philippines as among the "deadliest" countries in terms of road safety, and said there were 12,690 road traffic deaths in the country in 2016.
The WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 showed an increasing trend in road traffic deaths in the Philippines, noting that half of the deaths were among vulnerable road users – motorcyclists, pedestrians, and cyclists.
To address road safety issues, the Philippines developed the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2017-2022, adopting a vision of zero road traffic death, with an interim target to reduce the road death rate by at least 20 percent by 2022.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a speech Friday in Cotabato City, Duterte said drivers of vehicles, especially large trucks, should be careful because large numbers of people might die when they over-speed.
"Pati yung truck, i-control ninyo ang speed. Alam niyo ang disgrasya ngayon? Kung gaano ang patay (Truck drivers, you should control your speed. Do you know how many people die when there's an accident)? Ten, twenty?" he said.
"It has to stop. It is a very... it's almost an adventure ngayon kung magsakay ka ng truck. Tsaka ang patay mag-abot na ng 20, 22 (when you ride a truck nowadays. The death toll reaches 20, 22). It's no longer acceptable to me," he added.
"Ang numbers ng patay, no longer--hindi na nakakatuwa. Hindi na magandang basahin. Parang massacre na (The number of dead people -- this is not acceptable. It's not good to read about. It's like a massacre). Almost every day," he said.
Duterte said police officers should watch for overspeeding vehicles but reminded them not to take bribes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) counts the Philippines as among the "deadliest" countries in terms of road safety, and said there were 12,690 road traffic deaths in the country in 2016.
The WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 showed an increasing trend in road traffic deaths in the Philippines, noting that half of the deaths were among vulnerable road users – motorcyclists, pedestrians, and cyclists.
To address road safety issues, the Philippines developed the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2017-2022, adopting a vision of zero road traffic death, with an interim target to reduce the road death rate by at least 20 percent by 2022.