VICOAP, Project CARES collaborate to promote road safety

The Vehicle Inspection Centers Operators Association of the Philippines (VICOAP) has collaborated with Project CARES (Community Activities Reaching to Everyone through Services) to boost road safety and responsible vehicle ownership campaigns in the country.

In a statement, VICOAP Spokesperson Atty. Fudge Tajar said that the alliance will launch the VICOAP CARES RS10p Program Partnership. 

The initiative will include community-based advocacy actions on road safety awareness in inspection centers or hubs for VICOAP members and Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVIC) personnel.

According to Tajar, the association decided to partner with the non-government organization as one of the pillars of its advocacy is hinged on vehicle safety.

“VICOAP, as the sole organization of Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers in the Philippines with more than 70 accredited centers throughout the country, will have a strategic role in promoting responsible vehicle ownership and other road safety campaigns together with Project CARES,” Tajar was quoted as saying.

In 2010, Project CARES launched the RS10p (Coalition of Advocate for Roads, Environment, Safety, and Road Safety Decade Program) by partnering with multi-sectoral stakeholders in their community-based programs.  

Meanwhile, Project CARES Chair May Altarejos-Cueva considers VICOAP as one of the group’s allies in promoting road safety and injury prevention.

“NGOs play a vital role in the growing worldwide movement to reduce the impact of road traffic injuries on society via advocacy and the implementation of evidence-based programs to reduce crashes and assist the injured. We play a key part of the road safety equation, as we make road safety an issue that is personal, real, and in need of urgent attention. We are instrumental in generating a demand from the public for safer roads, and when they base their interventions on evidence about what works, they can contribute in significant ways to saving lives on the road,” Cueva shared.

“Vehicle safety is not an option and therefore, the mandatory comprehensive motor vehicle inspection is a must. Every Juan has the right to a safe journey while on the road.  Vehicle road worthiness is an intrinsic part of road safety. One of our objectives as a group is to instill the idea that road safety is a shared responsibility of everyone.  Road traffic safety must be a way of life with everyone being part of the solutions to achieve our goal to half if not zero road crash deaths in the Philippines during the UN Decade,” she added.

Tajar revealed that plans on expanding the reach of the programs are on the way to ensure that the advocacy will become part of Filipinos “cultural development as a nation.”

“With VICOAP CARES RS10p, we can do more and serve better to help save more lives throughout the country in the years to come,” she affirmed.

Photos from Vehicle Inspection Centers Operators Association of the Philippines, Iñigo Larrazabal

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