SLEx bosses totally oblivious of motorists’ safety
People supervising the maintenance work at the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) have complete and contemptuous disregard of the safety of motorists. I was on my way to Sucat coming from Osmeña Highway in the morning of Dec. 18. Going southbound, I usually use the Skyway, but since it was a Sunday (around 10:30 a.m.) and seeing the traffic relatively light, I decided to use the highway below the Skyway to save a few pesos.
How I regretted that decision! I lost probably a thousand times more than the few pesos I intended to save. The reason: my windshield sustained cracks from a big stone that hit it. (Thank God, the glass was laminated and not simply tempered!) It happened just past the Magallanes area and probably a kilometer away from the entry point of the toll gate going south. I surmised that repair work being done at the structure above caused some debris like stones to fall below. I actually noticed big stones scattered along my path, but it was too late to avoid them at a speed of about 60-70 kph. Moreover, who would think that such condition would exist on the expressway? I drove through the debris and my left front tire hit a big chunk of hard object (probably a stone embedded on hardened cement) and with a big bang, it hit my windshield!
Upon exiting Sucat I reported the incident to the security guard manning the toll gate, but I was advised to report the incident instead to a police precinct at Bicutan (which meant I had to drive back to Bicutan). After changing my front left tire (which I noticed later was also damaged on the side), I proceeded to the Bicutan precinct. And here, my anger heightened against the management of SLEx. I was shown by SPO1 Pagaddu, who was manning the precinct, more than 10 complaint sheets of motorists with the same gripe as mine, filed earlier that Dec. 18. This is the mother of all incompetence and inefficiency, or maybe stupidity. The first reported incident could have alarmed the SLEx management, or whoever was supervising the repair work then in progress, into doing something immediately about the danger. Up to the time I left the Bicutan precinct, more and more incidents of the same nature were occurring. I say this as another person came after me with the same complaint.
I could only wish that the SLEx management could be as fair and efficient in acting on safety matters as when it raises its toll charges.
—CARLITO S. VILLANUEVA,
