Poe pushes for transport safety board after Mindoro bus accident

Senator Grace Poe stressed Wednesday the need for the creation of National Transportation Safety Board following the bus crash in Occidental Mindoro which resulted to the death of 19 people. 

Poe said the proposed NTSB, which is now pending in the Senate, would be solely responsible for looking into transportation-related recurring accidents and determining their causes.

She said this will cover land, sea, air, including railways and pipeline systems.

"As we express our deepest sympathies to the family of the Mindoro bus crash victims, we are enraged with the loss of lives due to events that could have been prevented," she said in a press statement.

Poe said the list of tragic road accidents and casualties continue to increase because vehicles that are not roadworthy or even those deemed as rolling coffins are still allowed to ply the roads with near impunity.

She noted that in 2014, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that accidents, mostly vehicular, have claimed the lives of 43,853 Filipinos.

Poe said they have gathered reports that there were previous accidents involving Dimple Star Transport buses, which also resulted in fatalities.

"This recent incident reminded us once again about how public transportation in the country can be so dangerous," she said.

Poe said the country needs a dashboard of solutions to stop the bloody mess on the streets that would range from a preventive and preemptive  garage inspection of public vehicles, to strict driver’s licensing, use of devices like GPS, and speed delimeters.   

"We should also see to it that the billions of pesos in car registration fees which is earmarked for road safety, such as railings and  lights, end up in the streets installed, and not in private pockets," she added.

Poe said the missing link in the accident prevention measures is the NTSB as there is a jumble of transport agencies, but there is no “go-to agency” that will be able to unravel and explain major transportation accidents. 

She said the proposed NTSB will be the transportation safety ombudsman which can raise the alarm on accidents waiting to happen.

"Our condolences again to the family of the victims, and we hope the concerned agencies and the private operator of the bus company will attend to their needs immediately," she said. —KG, GMA News