A 29-year-old man died last Sunday after his motorcycle fell into a hole on the national highway in Barangay Bulacao in Talisay City before daybreak.
The hole where 29-year-old Norman Delos Reyes fell was part of a P47-million drainage project handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from Barangays Bulacao to Tabunok.
Following the accident, the DPWH Second Engineering District said that its contractor, A.R. Adlawan Construction Inc., should have taken precautionary measures in the excavation.
SunStar Cebu tried to get the contractor’s side on the matter but their representatives said they were still preparing an official statement.
Delos Reyes, who worked in the Mactan Export Processing Zone 1 in Lapu-Lapu City, was proceeding toward his hometown in Minglanilla when he and his motorcycle fell into the hole at 3:30 a.m. last Sunday. It was at least two meters wide and 10 feet deep.
The manhole was just a few meters away from the front gate of a subdivision in Barangay Bulacao.
PO1 Ruel Detoya of the Talisay City Police Station’s Traffic Division said that while the accident occurred at 3 a.m., it was only at 5 a.m. that Delos Reyes was brought to the Talisay District Hospital.
Within minutes after reaching the public hospital, he was transferred to the South General Hospital in the City of Naga, a private facility, but died before arriving there, Detoya added.
Barriers requested
A caution line was seen around the hole yesterday.
Raul Cabañero, Barangay Bulacao, Talisay City chief, told reporters that three days before the accident, he requested the contractor to provide protective barriers around the excavation.
Cabañero said that aside from reminding the contractor of the safety precautions they needed to install, he also instructed tanods to monitor the excavation site whenever they oversee the traffic flow there.
But the tanods can only watch the area from morning until early evening, Cabañero added.
In a separate interview, District Engineer Leslie Anthony Molina told reporters that since December last year, he has reminded the contractor to put up protective barriers or caution lines to prevent accidents in that area.
“We advised them to acquire steel plates to cover the excavated manholes but the contractor said they were apprehensive of acquiring them as these might get stolen,” Molina said.
Despite the accident, Molina said that DPWH can’t sanction the contractor, who is obligated to finish the project as part of their contract. He, however, advised the contractor to assist Delos Reyes’ family with their needs, including burial assistance.