DAVAO CITY, Philippines — City councilors here are calling for an investigation into the quality of the traffic posts in the city following the death of an 18-year-old student due to electrocution.
Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr. of the 2nd district delivered a privilege speech on Tuesday calling for a probe of the city’s traffic post after the tragic incident.
Councilor Dante Apostol, also from the 2nd district, filed a resolution urging all concerned local agencies to conduct an inventory of all existing traffic posts in the city.
On October 8, a senior high school student, Laurence Mike Allen Barrios Siarot, 18, was electrocuted after he stepped on a wet ground beside a defective traffic light post in Panacan, Davao.
“I found out on record that the defective traffic post was allegedly reported to the contractor. Way back August 2019, residents in the area took notice of the electricity running from the post,” Mahipus said.
“Preliminary reports state that there was an alleged inspection done sometime in September and that the City Government allocated PhP 10 million for repair, replacement, rehabilitation and maintenance of the traffic signalization,” Mahipus said.
The councilor said he wonders now happened to the PhP10 million amount for repair and rehabilitation.
Mahipus also said that he wants to know the provisions of the contract and the Memorandum of Agreement to determine if there is any liability on the part of the contractor.
He also asked for the copy of the inspection report of the said traffic post in the area.
“Certainly, we need to establish some basic facts regarding the incident, because we have appropriated funds for the maintenance of the traffic signalization in order to prevent incidents such as this,” Mahipus said.
“We cannot bring back the life of the victim Laurence, but we can prevent similar accidents from happening if we stay vigilant and establish protocols,” he added.
The bereaved family of Siarot asked help from the city council to investigate the defective traffic post that claimed the life of a young high school student.
