THREE passengers, including two minors, were declared dead on the spot, while one survived the road crash on Bokod-Kabayan national road along Sitio Bogao, Adaoay, Kabayan, Benguet.
Lieutenant Gilbert Anselmo, Kabayan Municipal Police Station (KMPS) officer-in-charge, said a gray Asian utility vehicle fell into an almost 800-meter ravine after the driver allegedly fell asleep and lost control of the steering wheel.
Driver Dennis Ingosan Begya, 28, with the two 17-year-old passengers died, while Francklin Aroyaw Pay-oen, 32, survived.
Anselmo said the four came from Pan-ayaoan, Loo, Buguias, Benguet early morning of October 27 and were bound for Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya to clean their grandmother's grave when the accident happened.
The vehicle and the lone survivor were found by police on October 30 following a retrieval operation conducted by personnel of KMPS, Bureau of Fire Protection of Kabayan and Bokod, and Bokod Municipal Police Station.
The three cadavers were brought home by their relatives to Pan-ayaoan, Loo, while Pay-oen was sent to the hospital for further treatment.
Anselmo cited the lack of concrete barriers along the road that could have prevented the accident.
The local government of Kabayan, together with the Department of Public Works and Highway, was urged to place barriers and put additional signage in the accident-prone area.
Nelson Palispis, a resident of Kabayan and a former employee of an international aircraft parts manufacturing company, often take the road when driving and cited the Bokod-Kabayan portion of Gurel-Abatan Road as one of the most dangerous portions of the route, with deep ravines and absence of road barriers.
"I had my close call here some three years ago when I travelled late in the evening with a full stomach. I fell sleepy behind the steering wheel and end up bumping a parked car along the road in Bila, Bokod. It's good I didn't end up falling in one of the numerous ravines along the road," Palispis said.
He said the driver's alertness level is crucial as deep ravines and threat of not seeing cars falling into a ravine is possible, highlighting the importance of planting of trees along the roads and installation of concrete or metal barriers along the road to prevent cars from falling deeper into ravines.
Palispis lamented a good portion of the route is uninhabited and cellphone signal is either choppy or none at all.
World Health Organization Global Status Report for 2018 reported that since 2010, the number of road crash death never dipped below 8,000.
In the last five years, human error tops road crashes in Benguet Province with a total of 8,360, followed by mechanical defect with 673 and 350 were caused by poor road condition.
From January to August 2019, Benguet Provincial Police Office data recorded 632 reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property, 299 reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries and 13 resulted in homicide.
Both Anselmo and Palispis called on motorists to drive safely and defensively when traveling along the Baguio-Vizcaya or the Baguio-Kabayan route.
"Let us not wait for accidents to happen before putting safety measures in place," Palispis added.