Antique Gov. Rhodora Cadiao is calling on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to condemn the Barangay Igbucagay, Hamtic, “killer curve” road that has caused the death of more than 50 people, the latest of whom were 18 on a Ceres bus that plunged into a 60-foot ravine on Tuesday.
It is time the DPWH puts an end to band-aid solutions to a long existing problem and build a new road before more people die, Cadiao told DIGICAST NEGROS on Thursday, Dec. 7.
Cadiao said she is meeting with DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan on Monday to air her concern because no concrete solution has been given to her request at the regional and district levels.
“Every time there is an accident at the ‘killer curve’ they always have a simple solution to it, simple and experimental solutions are not acceptable. They have to condemn and abandon that road and let the spirits of the dead rest, and make an alternate road even if they have to cut through a mountain,” she said.
“Once and for all I will tell Sec. Bonoan to condemn that road to put the spirits there to rest,” she said.
More than a dozen vehicles have fallen off the “killer curve” that caused the deaths of more than 50 people, Cadiao said.
Various types of vehicles from buses, delivery trucks to cars remain at the bottom of the ravine to this day, she said.
The solution of the DPWH after the previous accidents was to put signs and barriers that did not stop more accidents from happening, she said.
With so many vehicles falling off the “killer curve”, they have not reviewed the design of that road, Cadiao said.
“We can’t afford to have more people die”, she said.
The Philippine flag in Antique is flying at half-mast in honor of those who died in the accident on Tuesday, “many of whom were young, you will cry”, Cadiao said.
One family, including and 1-year-old boy, who were just going to Antique for a vacation were among the dead on Tuesday, she said.
Also among the dead were seamen, students, teachers working in mountain schools, and pastors, Cadiao said.*