THE death of a motorcycle rider on Tuesday, September 14 who crashed onto a pre-fab U-shaped culvert left on the middle of the national road, along with two other bare concrete slabs at Baranggay Milagrosa, Tolosa, Leyte could be another case of neglect.
That case of neglect is likely going to be forgotten, along with the incriminating baggage of accountability it carries. Contractors are very good at troubleshooting problems, especially so if what is at stake is its business interest. They will not mind the cost if alone the trouble will be fixed.
In the case of this Sta. Fe road accident, the compensation claims of the aggrieved family have now been amicably settled. Hence, the case was closed but not without cost.
But should serious and no-nonsense investigation continue, obvious lapses will begin to surface. But of course, it won’t because the involved parties wouldn’t want it to become lucidly evident. The risk of having them exposed to the apparent anomalies is just too much to bear.
But more than putting the blame unceremoniously on the said road accident victim, mandated officials of the public works department should have been more stern at requiring accountability to the construction firm. For while it displayed affected empathy on the family of the victim by compensating them of their loss, the greater responsibility is the apparent neglect the involved parties had deliberately allowed.
Interestingly, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) being the relevant oversight agency involved should instead hold erring contractors accountable. But for whatever reasons, they would rather do away with the stressful and destabilizing hassle. But that is not to spare accountability to the responsible DPWH officials who may have been lackadaisical on the performance of their official roles.
But because the involved parties would rather want this case shelved than discussed, they are all doomed to repeat their worsening lapses.