After killer accidents: Business Mirror highlights road safety and health concerns

CHEERS TO BusinessMirror’s report that called attention to the state of road safety in the country–after the two killer crashes in the first week of May that killed a dozen people. The report cited data that showed road accidents as the leading cause of death among children and young adults.

On May 1, a Solid North Transit Inc. Bus rammed through four vehicles at the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) Northbound. The collision killed ten people, including six children; and injured 37 people.  

Three days later, on May 4, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) plowed through a bollard at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), killing two persons and wounding four others who were waiting in the area.   

Media coverage followed up with articles on the victims’ families and on statistics of road accidents and casualties. BusinessMirror zoomed in on the issue, citing information that showed up road accidents as a major public health issue that calls for solutions.  

Deaths on the roads 

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco of BusinessMirror on May 7, noted the data from the Department of Health (DOH), which showed the rising number of road accident deaths in the Philippines, with 12,000 Filipinos dying yearly nationwide. 

Mocon-Ciriaco’s report discussed road accidents as a public health concern, citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO) that pointed to road accidents as the leading cause of death for people aged five to 29 years old. 

On road safety 

Apart from noting the shared responsibility between the government and road users, Mocon-Ciriaco’s report called attention to the Metro Manila Road Safety Action Plan (MMRSAP) 2024-2028, the government’s action plan to reduce road crash fatalities by 35 percent by 2028. 

This action plan cites the same five pillars included in the  Philippine Safety Road Action Plan 2023-2028: road safety management, creation of safer roads and safer vehicles, helping road users, and improving post-crash response.

The article did well to shift from reporting road tragedies as separate events, calling attention to the need for a comprehensive response on the part of the government and the public as stakeholders to promote public safety. In this way, media reports add to its role of public information, highlighting the need for solutions and building up a more dynamic discourse on public safety as a national concern.