THE SPIKE in road accidents in Iloilo — particularly the seven percent rise in property-damage crashes — has raised a question that no one seems eager to answer: Who is ultimately responsible for road safety?
While the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) has been vocal in releasing traffic data and issuing calls for safer driving, the recurring causes of these accidents — reckless driving, poor road lighting, missing reflectors, and inadequate signage — point to a fractured system of accountability between local government units (LGUs) and law enforcement agencies.
Road safety goes beyond catching speedsters at checkpoints or telling motorcyclists to wear helmets. It is building and maintaining an environment where safe driving is the norm, not the exception. That environment includes visible road signs, properly marked lanes, well-lit intersections, traffic-calming measures in high-risk areas, and driver discipline. These aren’t luxuries but lifesaving road necessities — and their absence is part of the problem.
Yet when accidents happen, the response is predictable: the police and Land Transportation Office (LTO) urge caution; local officials pledge cooperation; and then everyone waits for the next crash.
In towns like Oton, Pavia, and Lambunao — now frequent headlines in fatal accident reports — residents continue to plead for safer streets. But who is actually ensuring these roads are safe? Is it the responsibility of the municipal engineering office or Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to install and maintain road signs? Should barangays or municipal governments shoulder the lighting? Or does the task fall on the provincial government? Meanwhile, the police are expected to enforce traffic rules, but how effective can enforcement be on unlit, unmarked highways, and drivers act like road daredevils?
This lack of clarity is not just inefficient — it is dangerous. The Department of Interior and Local Government, the DPWH, the Philippine National Police, LTO and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board must work with LGUs to define responsibilities in black and white. The blame game cannot continue every time another family mourns the loss of a loved one.
We cannot allow accountability to vanish into the gray zones of bureaucracy. Every intersection without proper lighting is a silent deathtrap. Every road without a speed sign is a gamble. Every reckless driving invites a visit to the hospital or a trip to the cemetery. Yes, every fatality from these oversights is a tragedy that could have been prevented.
It’s time to stop asking who should be in charge and start demanding who will take charge. The people of Iloilo deserve an answer — and safer roads.
