As the country commemorates the National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims, Survivors, and Their Families on Sunday, a transport advocacy group has urged lawmakers to invest more in road safety programs to prevent further deaths on Philippine roads.
The Move As One Coalition cited the deaths of 90-year-old Erlinda Santos Tagle and 11-year-old Dawn Rafael Linga, who were both hit by pickup trucks while crossing designated pedestrian lanes.
Tagle was volunteering outside a church in Pampanga when a pickup truck struck her last June. Meanwhile, Linga was crossing a pedestrian lane in Oriental Mindoro when a speeding pickup truck hit him last January.
Observed every third Sunday of November under Republic Act No. 11468, the National Day of Remembrance honors road crash victims, survivors, and their families.
The coalition said the deaths of Tagle and Linga underscored the need to make Philippine roads safer.
‘Their deaths show how little progress has been made in making Philippine roads safer,’ the group said.
It also cited Philippine Statistics Authority data showing that road crash fatalities increased by 65.34 percent, from 7,938 in 2011 to 13,125 in 2023.
The group urged the government to go beyond offering prayers and lighting candles for road crash victims, calling instead for greater investment in programs and infrastructure that protect people from road hazards.
‘The Coalition calls on the Senate and the Bicameral Conference Committee to fund investments to make roads safer for people, not promote motor vehicle speed,’ it said.
Road safety funding
Move As One Coalition raised concerns over the lack of funding for the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan (PRSAP), saying the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed ?111.29-million allocation for the program was reduced to zero in both the National Expenditure Program and the House General Appropriations Bill.
According to the PRSAP 2023-2028, a review of the previous 2017-2022 plan found that underfunded organizations and the low priority given to road safety had hampered the implementation of its goals.
‘Many challenges have hampered the full attainment of road safety goals.’
‘The most striking realities were that organizations were underfunded, and road safety was not the top priority,’ the coalition said, quoting the plan.
The previous plan also failed to meet its interim target of reducing the road death rate by at least 20 percent by 2022, the coalition noted.
The group likewise called for the restoration of the DOTr’s proposed P1.13-billion budget for active transport in the 2027 national budget, saying the House bill allocated only P33.9 million.
In comparison, road-widening projects received a total of P223.07 billion from 2020 to 2026, while the Active Transport Bike Share and Safe Pathways Program received P3.87 billion during the same period, according to the coalition.
The group said the government should prioritize infrastructure that protects pedestrians, including safer and raised pedestrian crossings, wider sidewalks, and traffic-calming measures.
It also urged lawmakers to reconsider spending on footbridges, arguing that at-grade crossings are more accessible to people of different ages and abilities.
‘The Move As One Coalition urges lawmakers to pass a 2027 national budget that values human life over vehicle speed,’ the coalition said.
‘This will ensure that no more Filipinos like Tagle and Linga die while simply trying to cross the street.’