Police to reactivate Provincial Traffic Unit

CEBU, Philippines - Due to series of road accidents in the province recently, the Cebu Provincial Police Office will reactivate its Provincial Traffic Unit which will strictly implement the traffic rules in its area of jurisdiction.

The traffic unit will become a sub-branch of the Provincial Operations and Plans Branch of the CPPO and will be headed by Chief Insp. Alexander Soledad, who is also the commander of the Night Watch Task Force.

Provincial Police director Patrocinio Comendador observed that there is no central body or a specific unit taking charge of road rules in every municipality. Also, traffic policemen in the province lack training.

“Naay TOP’s ang every municipality but the approach is not coordinated,” he said.

The plan may not eliminate road accidents but the police are hopeful that it will lessen road problems.

After the reactivation, Comendador is planning to convene with officials of the local government units to have a unified and intensified workforce.

Meanwhile, an instructor of the AMA College Learning School was killed while two others were injured when the motorcycle they were riding rammed into an asphalt paver parked on the roadside in Barangay Colon, Naga yesterday evening.

Mark Carlos Bardos, 25, his wife Vanessa, 24, and their 3-year-old son, Cyril, all of Lapu-Lapu City, were taken to the South General Hospital. But a few minutes later, Mark was declared dead due to severe physical injuries while the two other victims were already declared out of danger.

Police said a heavy equipment, an asphalt paver driven by Edwin Gonzales, of Barangay Yati, Liloan was parked on the roadside when the Honda motorcycle with plate numbers 8572GI driven by Mark hit the bigger vehicle’s left rear portion causing them to slump on the road.

 Gonzales alleged he parked the paver after he unloaded the asphalt at the front portion of Kepco’s Gate 2. But he was later surprised he heard a loud thud at the back portion of the equipment. (FREEMAN)