BY: CHARLES NIKKO LIMON
The Central Business District (CBD) has recorded the highest number of road incidents in the city, according to the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO).
Authorities believe that the increasing volume of vehicles and driver error are the main contributors.
Jonathan Farow, a taxi driver who has been navigating Baguio’s roads for seven years, says he’s all too familiar with where accidents usually happen in the city.
“Near Good Taste, at the Central Park crossing, accidents happen there a lot because some drivers go too fast,” he shared in an interview. “You just have to give way to others to avoid accidents,” he added.
Farow is just one of thousands of motorists who pass through the CBD daily.
Though traffic is often slow-moving in the area, it is also where the highest number of road incidents have been reported.
From January to May this year, the BCPO recorded 166 road incidents in the Central Business District, a significant jump from the 66 cases reported during the same period in 2024.
“This is really where we’re focusing our enforcement, implementing our traffic laws and ordinances,” said Police Lt. Col. Judy Palicos, Chief of the Police Strategy Management Unit at BCPO. “We are intensifying our presence here.”
Most incidents occur during rush hour, particularly between 7 to 9 in the morning and 3 to 7 in the evening.
In response, the BCPO has launched “Oplan DRIVE,” an initiative aimed at educating and monitoring drivers.
Their target is to reduce road incidents by 5%, or roughly 20 cases.
“The traffic volume is high, people going out, picking up others,” Palicos explained. “So we’re implementing a 90-10 deployment strategy, with 90% of our personnel outside, and only 10% left inside for office work.”
However, Palicos noted that tourists are often involved in these accidents.
“That’s really where the problem starts, when people don’t follow our traffic rules,” she said. “That’s why in our ‘Oplan DRIVE,’ the ‘D’ stands for discipline.”
To address the issue, the BCPO plans to intensify its information and education campaigns, install more road signages, and enforce stricter compliance with speed limits.
Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is closely monitoring the operations of public utility vehicles, especially taxis.
“One thing I’m considering suggesting to taxi operators is to reevaluate the boundary system,” said Engineer Elmer Jr. Mendoza, LTFRB’s focal person for the Public Transport Modernization Program. “If the boundary fee is too high, drivers might be pressured to rush and meet their quota.”
These concerns were raised during a recent meeting among the LTO, LTFRB, BCPO, the city government, and other transport stakeholders as they work to address the increasing number of road-related incidents in Baguio City.
