CEBU CITY, Philippines — Closer monitoring, more personnel on the road and continued driver education count among the measures transportation and law enforcement authorities wish to implement as vehicular crashes continue to raise concern along Cebu’s Transcentral Highway (TCH).

The TCH, which stretches about 45 to 47 kilometers from Cebu City on the east coast to Balamban on the west, has seen recurring traffic incidents, prompting the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) and the Regional Highway Patrol Unit 7 (RHPU-7) to discuss both immediate and longer-term measures.

Closer monitoring

Lwayer Geralgin Balatucan, chief of the Regional Law Enforcement Service of LTO-7, said the agency is closely monitoring traffic incidents along the TCH.

Balatucan said LTO-7 is also coordinating with the Philippine National Police (PNP) in monitoring motorists, particularly those who perform driving exhibitions along the highway.

She also warned motorists against performing stunts such as banking along the TCH.

“To all the motorists who think they can do any form of driving sa TCH, motarong lang ta. Inyo na lang mga kinabuhi ang inyong tiaw-tiawan, not ours. So just be safe on the road,” she said.

(Let’s be serious. Play with your lives, not ours.)

She urged motorists to follow traffic rules even when enforcers seem absent.

Daily enforcement a challenge

For the short term, Balatucan said authorities could increase enforcement operations along the TCH, including potentially conducting them daily.

However, she acknowledged that manpower remains a limitation.

“Short-term solutions, of course, is to possibly enforce daily. But of course, with our coverage and our limited personnel, we cannot do that,” Balatucan said.

As a longer-term measure, she pointed to the deputization training conducted for personnel from the PNP and local government units.

“Long term, that’s what we’ve already accomplished, the deputization training to several PNP and LGU personnel so that we have more hands on the roads and to keep the motorists safe,” she said.

According to Balatucan, they aim to put more personnel on the roads who can help enforce traffic rules and keep motorists safe.

HPG: Preventive approach

Police Brigadier Gen. Rommel Batangan, director of the Highway Patrol Group, meanwhile, said the response to road crashes should not begin only after an accident has already happened.

He said he has directed personnel of the Regional Highway Patrol Unit in Central Visayas to prioritize prevention.

“Ang lagi ko namang utos sa mga tauhan natin, more on preventive sana yung approach natin. Hindi pwede yung reresponde tayo kung kailan nangyari na yung accident,” Batangan said.

(I have ordered our personnel to take a preventive approach instead of just waiting to respond to incidents.)

He noted that Metro Cebu’s growing traffic volume and physical limitations also make road expansion an increasingly difficult solution to congestion and road-safety concerns.

With highways becoming longer and the number of vehicles increasing, Batangan said authorities must also focus on motorists’ discipline and the presence of law enforcement personnel.

“Aside sa discipline ng mga motorists natin, nandyan din dapat lagi yung presence ng mga personnel natin specifically dito sa RHPU-7,” he said.

(Aside from motorist discipline we need high personnel visibility.)

Education, enforcement must work together

Batangan also acknowledged that motorists have different driving attitudes, which authorities cannot completely control through enforcement alone.

Instead, he said education can help minimize risky behavior, particularly when combined with consistent enforcement and community participation.

“Hindi naman ito kaya ng law enforcement lang. With the active support of the community, malaking tulong ang education. Enforcement nandyan naman yan,” Batangan said.

(Enforcement alone will not solve everything… education helps much. Enforcement is always there.)

He pointed out that some motorists tend to behave differently when law enforcers are not around, making personal discipline an important part of road safety.

For Batangan, motorists should therefore observe proper driving discipline regardless of whether an enforcer is present.

“With or without the presence of the law enforcers, dapat nandun pa rin yung disiplina natin (our discipline should remain),” he said.

The authorities’ approach, he added, therefore combines enforcement, prevention and education as they work to reduce crashes and dangerous driving along the TCH.