ILOILO City – Western Visayas is blazing a trail in road safety with the rollout of the country’s first regionally tailored road safety action plan, as government agencies and private stakeholders come together under a unified push to reduce road crashes and save lives.
The Western Visayas Road Safety Action Plan (WVRSAP) 2026-2028, developed under the Ligtas na Kalsada for All (LinK4All) project, aims to localize global and national road safety frameworks through a “glocal” lens — blending international best practices with region-specific strategies.
The project is spearheaded by the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Regional Office 6 (formerly the National Economic and Development Authority) and was launched during the fifth meeting of the Technical Working Group for Sustainable Development Goals on Road Safety of the Regional Development Council (RDC) on May 14.
“The initiative we have sponsored and shepherded represents a pioneering approach to road safety. It is the first comprehensive plan that acknowledges the unique context and challenges faced by our region,” said Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero, regional director of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and chairperson of RDC’s Development Administration Committee.
RDC’s endorsement through Resolution No. 08, Series of 2025, established a special committee comprising youth organizations, professional groups, academic institutions, local government units, and the private sector. These stakeholders will form planning teams to address key areas: multimodal transport and land use, safe road behavior, infrastructure safety, vehicle standards, and post-crash response.
“With strong collaboration from actors both from the private and public sector and the collective effort that road safety demands, the LinK4All project will go beyond being just a plan. I am confident it will produce tangible results,” said Engr. Arecio Casing Jr., DEPDev-6 director and RDC vice chairperson.
Two memoranda of understanding were also signed at the event — one with the Department of Health Region 6, and another with the Iloilo Business Club, Inc. (IBC) and the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety.
“Since 2014, we have been implementing an intensive and extensive program through policy formulation, trainings, orientation, simulation exercises, awareness campaign and sharing of best practices in global conferences,” said Dr. May Ann Soliva-Sta. Lucia, chief of the Local Health Support Division of DOH-6.
“Our main focus is to enhance the skills and capabilities of pre-hospital responders and hospital personnel through trauma care training. With the RDC overseeing overall coordination, DOH will play a vital role in reducing road crash fatalities and serious injuries in the region,” she added.
IBC president Emil Diez underscored the business sector’s support for the initiative: “[We] and the private sector community applaud this collaboration not only because transportation is a vital part of our daily grind, but strategic solutions to these challenges and implemented properly, save lives.”
The LinK4All Project is also the re-entry action plan of Engr. Ray Adrian Macalalag, an Australia Awards scholar who earned his Master of Transport degree from the University of Sydney.
A leadership board member of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, Macalalag continues to rally youth and institutional support for safer roads across the region./PN
