Road safety campaign launched to commemorate Bontoc bus crash in Philippines

MANILA – On the 1^st Anniversary of the GV Florida Bus Crash in Bontoc province last February 7, the group, DAKILA, co-founded by artist-activist and comedian Arvin ‘Tado’ Jimenez, one of the 15 casualties of the tragic accident, launched the campaign, Para! Sa Pilipinas.

Para! Sa Pilipinas is a road safety campaign which taps into the power of commuters to hold transport operators and government agencies accountable for providing comfortable, dependable, environment-friendly, affordable and, above all, safe public transportation.

According to Micheline Rama, Creative and Strategy Director of DAKILA, “The cornerstone of this campaign is the Para! Po reporting tool, which empowers commuters to report whether or not the operators of the bus they are riding, have complied with existing rules and regulations. Smoke-belching, lack of visible plates, reckless driving, obstruction of traffic, overloading – these are all violations that commuters can report on using the Para! Po tool. Right now, it is geared towards monitoring of public utility buses (PUBs) operating in metro and provincial lines nationwide, but will hopefully soon be adapted to other forms of land transportation.”

“More than just a complaint mechanism, it can also monitor compliance and identify exemplary bus lines. As the reports come in, we’ll also be able to track the performance of bus operators and share information back to the public. Commuters will soon be able to choose bus lines based in track records, patronize well-rated bus lines, and avoid those with negative reviews.” Rama added.

DAKILA Executive Director, Leni Velasco said the campaign in itself was conceptualized to honor and continue the fight for Tado’s advocacy on road safety. “There is no better way of paying tribute to the life of Tado but to continually seek for reforms in the transportation system so that this kind of tragedy will not happen again,” she said.

Last February 4, families and friends of those who perished and survived in the bus crash gathered at Sev’s Café Malate to commemorate its anniversary and among those who offered performances during the event were Noel Cabangon, Vice President of the artist collective DAKILA; musician Nityalila and Burn Belacho, guitarist of David Sicam’s band, Kinaiya.

Families and friends of the victims also organized similar events on February 7 for David Sicam and Gerard Baja at Ta-as Café, and on February 8 for Chris Cabardo at Cabino Bar. A bike tour was also held on February 7 in Marikina City for Tado.

A ritual and mass was held at the crash site in Bontoc and at the same event, writer and DAKILA President Lourd de Veyra and filmmaker Jim Libiran performed spoken word from an excerpt of “100 Must Do of Tado Before He Dies” taken from Tado’s book, Nagiisa Lang Ako.

DAKILA said it will be sharing the Para! Po information to the LTFRB and the bus operators themselves so that they may be made aware of feedback direct from ordinary commuters. “We hope to work with them to improve the quality of public transportation in the Philippines,” Velasco said..

A beta version of the tool was made available on February 9.

Rama said: “We encourage commuters and concerned citizens to contribute their reports, as well as provide any feedback on the tool to help the team continue to optimize and improve it over the coming weeks. We’ll also be rolling out additional information and features as the campaign progresses.” (Mindanao Examiner)

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