A pro-rider and motorist congressman is batting for the funding of so-called "black spots" in order to save Filipino lives.

1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said a black spot is defined by traffic management experts as a location which attracts more accidents in comparison to other similar locations on the road system, or locations that have an accident number and/or rate greater than a defined minimum.

During the House plenary debate on the proposed 2023 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last Sept. 26, Gutierrez agency officials, “Why are we
not funding these black spots?"

"We would just like to manifest that in this report, these suggested interventions are as simple as traffic signs, lane markings, some of them go for as low as ₱200,000 projects. Yet our budget couldn’t find it in the ₱700-billion plus budget to fund these black spots, which, remember, the definition says that it includes two to three major accidents," he said.

Gutierrez said that there are 713 black spots that should be a prioritized for interventions, and that they would only cost a little more than ₱1 billion to address.

The neophyte lawmaker added that funding is not the problem and giving these black spots focus would certainly help in saving people's lives as well as property.

“These are the low-lying fruits that can be immediately picked and would promote road safety. Even the earnings from the Motor Vehicles Users Charge (MVUC) reached ₱82 Billion in 2021 and with this , it can help address the gaps in the black spots,” he said.

He added that the DPWH must take into heart that behind every vehicle is a human that operates or is transported by it.

“As we transition from 'Build, Build, Build' to 'Build, Better, More', I hope that the department does not forget the 'Better' part, that we do not sacrifice the 'Better' for the 'More'.” Gutierrez said.