EDITORIAL - Road tragedy

In another gruesome highway tragedy in Cebu province, a speeding truck slammed into a concrete house in Guadalupe, Carcar City, killing at least seven people and injuring two dozen others.

The vehicle, carrying livestock and some passengers, was bound for Barangay Mantalungon in Barili from Argao Thursday noon when it encountered mechanical problem and later crashed into the house.

If reports are to be believed, the incident stemmed not from a human error. A television report said the vehicle had lost its brakes while navigating along a dangerous stretch of the highway.

As usual, government agencies immediately jumped into the scene, pointed fingers at those they found responsible for the tragedy, and imposed sanctions on the vehicle operator, driver, among others.

In fact, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board disclosed that the truck involved in the fatal accident does not have a record of franchise. LTFRB-7 acting transportation development officer Reynaldo Elnar told The FREEMAN that they see at least two violations in the incident.

The first violation, he said, was the loading of passengers because the truck was not a vehicle for hire. The second offense was that the vehicle was considered "colorum" since it has no franchise to transport the livestock. 

Of course, a private truck should not be allowed to solicit passengers and transport cargos considering the absence of a franchise from the government. And whether the operator of the ill-fated truck knows about this regulation remains to be seen.     

Authorities looking into the deadly crash should see to it that those responsible must pay to give justice to the victims.

In a country where road regulations are blatantly disregarded, the recent incident will not certainly be the last. Unless of course authorities have the will to strictly implement the laws, more lives are bound to lose in road tragedies.