Representative Sarmiento: PH One with the World in Promoting Global Road Safety
Congressman Cesar V. Sarmiento, Chairman of the Philippine House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation, addresses the United Nations General Assembly during the 82nd Plenary Meeting which adopted the resolution on “Improving global road safety.”
NEW YORK 17 April 2018 – Chairman of the Philippine House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation Representative Cesar V. Sarmiento said that the Philippines is one with the international community in promoting road safety and access to safe and sustainable transport systems in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 12 April.
“We put ourselves at the forefront together with the others to advance this goal in all its phases – politically, economically, socially and even culturally, for the sake of road safety,” said Representative Sarmiento as he delivered the Philippine statement at the UNGA 82nd Plenary Meeting which adopted by consensus the resolution on “Improving global road safety.”
The Philippines co-sponsored the bi-annual resolution on “Improving global road safety,” tabled by the Russian Federation, together with 71 other Member States. The resolution promotes the importance of reaching the road safety-related targets, such as target 3.6 under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aims to halve, by 2020, the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
In his statement, Representative Sarmiento, said that since 1999, the Philippines has enacted seven (7) laws that address key risk factors that were identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of the passage of evidence-based global road safety laws, including the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009 and the Road Speed Limiter Act of 2016.
According to the United Nations, road traffic crashes are responsible for more than 1.3 million deaths each year, while estimates of the burden of non-fatal injuries range from 20 million to 50 million.
During the UNGA Plenary meeting, the European Union (EU), Monaco, Luxembourg, Sweden (host of the 2020 High-Level Meeting on Global Road Safety), Oman, U.K (represented by Prince Michael of Kent, Patron of the Towards Zero Foundation), Australia, Moldova, Armenia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Nepal, Spain, Nigeria, Tanzania, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies expressed strong support for both the resolution and the establishment of the UN Road Safety Trust Fund. END
For more information, visit www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph/ www.un.int/philippines or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/