Have you watched the news lately and started thinking about your child’s safety and security?
The news these days is enough for any parent to worry about their children. The build-up of drug-related crimes involving students and children making the headlines is appalling. It leads anyone to wonder whether both authorities and schools are doing the best they can to make our schools safe.
The administration’s campaign against drugs intensified over the last two years. Many a number of drug peddlers and users have been rounded up. Death tolls related to this campaign also continued to rise. However, syndicates involving drugs are incessant and show no signs of letting up. The proliferation of illegal drugs into our society seems to show no signs of decreasing, either.
PNP-HPG Director Police Chief Superintendent, Arnel Escobal and LBC Express Inc. Senior Vice President for Philippine Operations, Oliver Valentin
LBC and the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group {PNP-HPG} has renewed another fruitful year of partnership which shows how private companies and government can work together in making a difference in the lives of the public they serve.
Recently, the two groups reinforced their Memorandum of Understanding on the importance of road safety and security through “The Disiplinadong Driver- Road Safety Marshal Orientation” held at the Camp Crame Grandstand last February 3, 2018.
Led by LBC Senior VP Oliver Valentin and HPG Director Atty. Arnel Escobal, 40-50 LBC delivery managers, supervisors, drivers, and riders underwent training with the HPG-PNP staff. Here, they were taught how to follow street signs; observe proper road etiquette; detect and avoid danger on the streets; and, gear up for each and every delivery. In exchange for the valuable instructions given to them, LBC provided the classrooms for training.
LBC says the partnership is essential to their operations because they move almost 96,000 parcels and cargoes daily through their 1,800 combined fleet of motorcycles and trucks. In 2017, HPG was able to train 560 NCR-based drivers of LBC which significantly reduced the number of recorded vehicular accidents.
Highlight of the event was the oath-taking of LBC employees who undertook the drills and the ceremonial posting of “Road Safety Mashal” stickers on LBC-marked delivery vans & motorcycles.
Valentin is proud to say that LBC is the first Corporate Supply Chain recognized by PNP-HPG as Road Safety Ambassador for “Ang Disiplinadong Driver”. He says: “We are well aware of our civic duty to adopt and adhere strictly to public safety policies. By advocating safer roads, we want to impart the message that entities can do their job both successfully and responsibly, if they set their minds to it”.
I used to take public transportation on a daily basis while working in the city more than 5 years ago. Commuting back then seems to be a walk in the park compared to what the commuters have to endure nowadays. I get to take public transport from time to time these days and mostly I have to endure horrendous traffic and long queues. I bet my stress level will hike up if I were to do it on a regular basis.
Unnecessary delays in train schedules, seemingly endless lines, and worse road condition, not to mention those unannounced public protest in the busiest road on a Friday, all make a commuter’s life a lot harder than it already is, and my heart goes out to the working mums who would miss the family dinner, or helping the children with their homework, or tucking the little ones to bed just because they cannot come home earlier. Now more than ever, I am thankful that I can earn my keep in the comforts of my home without having to worry about the adverse traffic condition or untimely road repairs.
Of course, these problems are not the only thing public commuters has to worry about. While agonizing about the thought of not making it to work, or class, or appointment on time, a person who takes public transportation also has to worry about his safety and security while traveling. The road is a dangerous place for travelers and accidents are waiting at every turn ~ it can be in a form of a derailed train, or one of those deadliest cars speeding by and hitting your UV van, or it can also be a pickpocket just waiting for a fellow passenger to let down his guard to attack and take whatever he can get his hands to.
With all the trouble a public commuter had to go to on a daily basis, I guess we can never really blame them for turning to social media to air their grievances about the public commuting system or lack thereof. I just hope the government has something up their sleeves to make public commuting in the country a lot less stressful and dangerous.
Have you tried public transportation recently, how was it?
