By Robert B. Roque
A string of road deaths has disturbed Metro Manila, beginning on Thursday last week, December 5, when a 10-wheel truck barreled through an entire lane of vehicles down the Katipunan flyover in Quezon City.
Reason: the massive truck lost its brakes. The driver, shocked at the destruction caused by the road monster in his hands, scampered away. It was obvious he was consumed by fear over the deadly pile-up he left behind.
Four people were killed, 30 others injured, and five cars, a van, a bus, and 16 motorcycles were left mangled and scrapped on the pavement. It didn’t take long till Richard Mangupag, the driver, was arrested and told police his truck’s brakes were malfunctioning long before reaching the flyover, but that he apparently chose to press on.
Then on Friday night, December 6, on the other side of the metropolis, another brake failure turned tragic in Parañaque City. Another 10-wheeler crashed into a pickup, creating a chain reaction involving five more vehicles.
One person was killed and five others were injured. This was another accident that routine maintenance could have averted.
And then came Saturday night, December 6, on the other side of my village here in Quezon City, an Alps bus rammed right into a 57-year-old woman crossing the street at the intersection of P. Tuazon and J.P. Rizal just as the traffic lights switched.
CCTV footage showed the woman was walking on the tail-end of a pedestrian crossing light when the lights switched and the bus, making a left turn, ran her over.
Her body, trapped beneath the bus for over two hours, became a grim testament to the perils of traffic law violations.
These are all deaths that could have been avoided if only responsibility wasn’t a rare commodity on Metro Manila’s roads. The catastrophic wreckage left in the wake of these so-called “accidents” reeks of one thing: negligence — negligence by drivers, by vehicle owners, and by those tasked to enforce safety standards.
These tragedies are more than mere statistics. They expose systemic failures in road safety enforcement, vehicle maintenance, and driver accountability. Every collision was preventable had the drivers, operators, or authorities acted responsibly.
This Christmas season, let us demand — not just wish — that our roads be made safer. Lives should not hang on the brink because of someone else’s negligence, whether you’re speeding at 60 kilometers per hour on the Skyway or inching forward at just 5 kph along EDSA. Every life matters, and it’s time we act like it.
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