Making travelling safer

More than profits, tollway operators should bear in mind their public duty to keep motorists and travelers safe.

This is probably the reason why the South Luzon Tollway Corp. (SLTC), since taking over the operation and maintenance of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) last May 2, has invested a significant amount to put in numerous safety features in the tollway for the protection of the public.

These include additional lighting facilities at all interchanges, entries and exit points, 82 high-definition closed-circuit television cameras, two gantry-mounted and four stand-alone electronic message signboards, bigger culverts and soak-away systems, lane markings, chevrons, reflectorized metal barriers, and quick response emergency teams, among others.

The company, a joint venture between the state-run Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) and MTD Manila Expressways, a subsidiary of publicly listed MTD Capital Bhd of Malaysia, emphasizes that it is “dedicated to bringing to the Philippines the benefits of a world-class tollway system that can contribute to economic growth.”

SLTC holds a 30-year concession to build, rehabilitate and operate SLEX which stretches from Alabang to Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

On the other hand, MTD Capital Bhd, with a market capitalization of $320 million, is an investment holding company with interest in civil engineering and construction, infrastructure development, and manufacturing of construction-related materials. MTD is reputedly the second biggest toll operator in Malaysia with offshore operations in 14 countries, including the Philippines.

SLTC chairman Dato Azmil Khalid himself has said that their commitment is to provide utmost safety and comfort to motorists and travelers on the much-improved SLEX, which serves as Metro Manila’s gateway to the southern Luzon and Bicol regions.

Recent studies have shown that the SLTC is well on its way to fulfilling its commitment in terms of faster and safer travel along the tollroad.

According to the University of the Philippines Planning and Development Research Foundation, the incidence of vehicular collisions along the SLEX had been on a downtrend using as benchmark 2007 which registered 146 cases of road accidents.

In 2008, the smash-ups went down to 133, representing a 10 percent reduction, which SLTC attributed to dramatic improvements in the road structure, as well as installation of adequate safety devices and roadside instructional signage materials that meet international standards.

Last year, the figure dropped further to 82, which is definitely commendable, considering the lives and limbs, as well as property, have been saved.

And this year, the number of road accidents along the SLEX is expected to go down further, especially with eight new lanes already completed for more spacious driving convenience.

Dato explains that wider roads give the drivers more space to maneuver, hence, less chances of collisions (with other vehicles).

And of course, the new lanes and wider roads allow for faster travel, which translates to huge benefits especially for businesses that transport goods.

According to the same UP study, the average speed at the old SLEX in 2007 was 66.7 kilometers per hour (Alabang in Muntinlupa City to Calamba City in Laguna), translating into 26.71 minutes travel time for the 15.6-kilometer stretch. This is pitiful since SLEX was supposed to be a freeway offering seamless journey.

SLTC said that with the new improvement projects in place, travel time is now at 100 kph, or 17.1 minutes for the same distance.

Killer on the loose?

It’s good to know that there are significant efforts on the part of our government to reduce the price of medicine.

But cheaper is not enough. We consumers need to be assured that the medicines, especially over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, which are being peddled to us are safe.

When buying OTC drugs, one basically relies on the reputation of the manufacturer, its approved therapeutic claims, and probably its catchy advertisement or attractive packaging. After all, there is no need for a doctor’s prescription, an assurance that the medicine you are taking is the right one to take.

This is the reason why we believe that the duty of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assure the public’s safety, especially when it comes to OTC drugs, becomes more important.

This column recently came across very disturbing reports about a painkiller brand which has been recalled by the US FDA in 1983, but has been reformulated and is now back in the market.

Saridon, which is currently available in Visayas and Mindanao, was among the phenacetin-containing drugs recalled by the US FDA. After being reformulated, it now contains propyphenazone, a derivative of phenacetin.

Phenacetin was once widely used as a remedy for fever and pain. It often took on the form aspirin-phenacetin-caffeine (APC). But its use was stopped when the US FDA tested lab rats with phenacetin and found the latter to be cancer-causing.

A 20-year study of 623 then-healthy women who regularly took phenacetin revealed that those who took painkillers containing the active ingredient phenacetin doubled their chances of dying early. The study also found that they were “l6 times more likely to have a kidney disease or one in the urinary tract, almost twice as likely to die of cancer, and almost three times as likely to die of heart disease while the risk of developing cardiovascular disease was nearly two to one.”

After being banned for use in medicine, phenacetin found another use, this time as cocaine extender.

The price of cocaine that has a purity of 80 and 90 percent is so stiff that some enterprising individuals discovered that they can mix this with extenders, which can degrade the quality and reduce the purity to 30 percent but can reduce the price significantly and make cocaine more affordable.

The BBC has reported that almost 60 percent of the cocaine that is being used in the UK (considered as the world’s cocaine capital) is being laced with phenacetin.

Out with phenacetin, in with propyphenazone.

Going back to Saridon, there are reports that the reformulated version contains propyphenazone, a derivative of phenacetin.

But there have been reported major side effects to using propyphenazone. Twenty adverse reactions to Saridon have been reported to Lareb, a Dutch Pharmacovigilance Center, 16 of which are interpreted as allergic reactions, with 10 identified to be possibly fatal. 

In its fatal form, Saridon could induce dizziness, loss of consciousness, labored breathing, swelling of the tongue and breathing tubes, blueness of the skin, low blood pressure, heart failure and even death.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that propyphenazone-induced allergic reactions have a rate of rise (ROR) of 18.2, as opposed to other tested analgesics that only  have RORs of 1.4 and 0.8.

The manufacturers of Saridon owe it to the public to explain these reports. Being an OTC drug, those taking it need to be assured that said drug really does what it claims it can do. Probably, our own FDA would be in the best position to investigate these reports. After all, it is the FDA which gave the stamp of approval for its sale here.

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