Paving materials like asphalt and concrete were unheard of where I grew up. Still, my friends and I felt safe on the road as we gleefully glided on soil on our way home and played in dimly lit corners at night. No outrageous pickpockets, thieves, or other street characters existed because everyone in the community had work.

But that was then, and this is now.

A three-year-old toddler died after falling into a hole in the sidewalk and into a sewer on 15 October 2023 in Barangay Bagong Silang in Caloocan City. The boy was playing with his four siblings in the rain when the accident happened.

Earlier on 20 August 2022, a 60-year-old woman died after she tripped into the open manhole of a road under construction. She was walking on the shoulder of the road when the unfortunate event happened in Infanta, Pangasinan.

Article 2189 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides that a negligent local government unit is liable for damages in case of physical injury or property damage caused by the condition of the roads, streets, or other public infrastructures. If you survive a similar accident and have the will, money, and patience to file for damages, then sue some local executives responsible. If you don’t have the money and courage to face them in court, you can still exact revenge by canceling them in the next elections.

The same applies to unfinished diggings by telecommunication companies and water utilities. To restrict access by unauthorized people, colorful vinyl warning signs and wood or iron fences around the digging site should be installed, or workers or attendants should be placed outside the manhole to warn passers-by.

Let’s not forget to blame the inglorious bastards who steal the all-steel covers only to sell them as scrap metal. They are also up in the air, in the darkness of the night, cutting copper cables, which interferes with the neighborhood’s internet connectivity and telephone communication. Lucky you if the dangling cable protectors or covers minus the copper wires do not hit your face or vehicle as you leave the house in a hurry.

As your vehicle suddenly made a turn on a curve at night, you heard a clunking sound because you had just hit an illegally parked tricycle or a stalled empty vegetable cart in a dimly lit corner. Local government units should reclaim the streets for the people by removing all illegal obstructions along the right-of-way road travelways for motor vehicles, road shoulders, and sidewalks. No palakasan.

Street thefts and robberies, part of a more extensive set of problems related to street crimes, are preventable. I don’t blame the mob that beats thieves and robbers to a pulp when caught, but be careful because these criminals are usually armed.

Teach young people how to think and react quickly. They are sometimes drawn to unfamiliar circumstances, especially if they go out with friends or relatives at night. Giving your children curfew hours would help.

If someone armed with a gun or knife blocks your path and asks for your mobile phone, wallet, or bag, let it go. Submission is cheaper than ending up in a hospital emergency room or funeral.

Indeed, making the right decisions about staying safe is essential if you do not wish harm to come to you.

Ensuring street safety is dangerous, even in cities and towns with the best safety records. The paradigm of safety is a critical responsibility that LGUs, law enforcers, parents, and residents must share. Keep your distance from known bullies, rumor mongers, drunkards, gamblers, and other lowlifes in the community, like drug users and couriers, swindlers, pickpockets, and other criminals. Increase the pay of barangay tanods or give them a monthly hazard pay.

Lighting up the streets, alleys, and waterways, posting hotlines for police, ambulances, and barangay centers in prominent spots, and vigilantly conducting citizen patrols will help deter crime and significantly reduce the number of crashes and exposure to the risk of conflict.

(You may send comments and reactions to feedback032020@gmail.com or text 0931-1057135.)