ILOILO City – Across Western Visayas, 332 people died in 5,490 vehicular accidents between January and October this year, data from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) showed.
This city recorded the highest number of road mishaps at 1,687 followed by Iloilo province (1,565), Negros Occidental (777), Capiz (743), Aklan (249), Antique (211), Bacolod City (171), and Guimaras (87).
Most of the road accidents involved motorcycles, according to Police Lieutenant Colonel Arnel Solis, PRO-6 spokesperson.
The region recorded 3,224 motorcycle crashes, 2,721 involving private vehicles, 228 in passenger jeepneys and 122 in heavy equipment such as trucks.
The crashes resulted to damage to property (2,918 cases), physical injury (2,240 cases) and homicide (332).
Solis said among the causes of accidents were lack of road signage, road under repair, vehicle malfunction, and drivers’ recklessness, among others.
“Drivers must observe traffic rules. Dapat maghinay gid samtang naga-drive, especially sa motorcycle drivers,” Solis said.
The recent accidents were on Monday and Tuesday in Iloilo, where five persons died while four others were injured.
In Janiuay town on Tuesday, two people died: Alex John Rapita, 26, of Barangay Mapili Grande, Badiangan and Norenz Provido, 27, of Barangay Bangac, Mina.
Around 8:10 p.m., a 10-wheeler truck hit Rapita on Crispin Salazar Street.
Driver Romeo Evangeles of Barangay Buntalan, Maasin claimed his brake malfunctioned.
A few hours later, Provido and his friend, only identified as Polpol, crashed their motorcycle against a parked truck in Barangay Jibolo.
Rapita and Provido died at the Federico Roman Tirador Sr. Memorial District Hospital.
On the other hand, Monday’s road crashes claimed the lives of a four-year-old girl, a truck driver and a village chief in the towns of Barotac Nuevo, San Dionisio and New Lucena, respectively./PN
