‘International standards? Tell it to the Marines

My family and I went to the Resorts World area recently. We attended a wake at St. Peter’s Chapel in the church there.

The height of the concrete parapet on the exit ramp going down from Skyway just beside Resorts World is double the height of the parapet at the Skyway. Likewise, the height of the parapet from the Skyway going down the exit ramp to Amorsolo Street in Legaspi Village just beside Walter Mart and Don Bosco in Makati is almost 50 percent higher than the parapet at the Skyway.

The height of the parapet along the Skyway is only 0.40 meter (about 16 inches), while the height of the parapet at the exit ramp going down to Amorsolo Street in Legaspi Village is 0.6 meter (about 24 inches). The measurement is taken from the curb which is 0.2 meter (about eight inches) in height from the road pavement.

Our estimate of the concrete parapet going down the exit ramp beside Resorts World (around 1.2 meter or about 48 inches or four feet) is double the height of the parapet along the Skyway, which is 0.6 meters (24 inches)—that is, 0.2 meter (about eight inches) for the curb plus 0.4 meter (about 16 inches) for the parapet.

All of the above clearly shows that there are no “international standards” being followed by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and the Department of Public Works and Highways, contrary to the shameless claims or chorus of TRB’s safety consultant Alberto Suansing, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson and Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

—RICARDO RAMOS, [email protected]