A 46-year-old motorist from Bacoor, Cavite, describing his ordeal on Skyway Stage 3 as a “near-death experience” after a metal plate detached and struck his vehicle, blamed it on poor maintenance of the toll road.

“It was poor maintenance; it could’ve been worse,” Jason Garcia told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Garcia said the metal plate could have easily pierced his windshield and caused a fatal accident.

“The steel plate could have gone through my windshield and killed me instantly,” he said.

The incident occurred at 3:54 p.m. on 13 June while Garcia was traveling southbound on the Skyway Stage 3 on his way home from Bulacan. A report by the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group stated that a detached roadway expansion joint cover first struck the rear bumper of the vehicle ahead, then hit the front bumper of Garcia’s Mitsubishi Mirage.

No injuries were reported, but Garcia’s vehicle suffered damage.

According to Garcia, traffic was moving normally when the steel plate was suddenly dislodged and sent flying after being struck by the vehicle ahead.

“An extension joint steel plate cover was sent flying and hit my car, damaging most of the parts under the hood,” he said.

“If I hadn’t hit the brakes on time and controlled the direction of my car, the situation could have been worse,” he added.

Garcia also questioned the response time of Skyway personnel, saying that assistance took a long time to arrive despite the presence of surveillance cameras in the area.

“It’s really concerning because there are cameras installed along the Skyway and one was located near the incident site, yet the response took a long time,” he said.

Time stamp delayed

The motorist clarified that while the HPG report showed a time stamp of 6:54 p.m., the accident occurred three hours earlier. He said the later time referred to the processing of the incident at the HPG office in Bicutan after authorities responded to the scene.

Garcia said the incident forced him to spend two days securing police reports and filing a complaint, while also dealing with the loss of the vehicle he depended on for work.

“This is a major road safety issue and Skyway should conduct thorough maintenance. We are paying for efficient and safe road access, and this is not acceptable,” he said.

The ordeal has been particularly difficult for Garcia, who said he is still recovering from surgery and relies on his vehicle for his daily commute between Bacoor and Makati.

“I was also out for two days just to get the report from HPG and file a complaint with Skyway,” he said. “It is very stressful and alarming that a road we’re paying to use isn’t safe at all.”

Garcia said he has sought assistance from Skyway to help cover the damage to his vehicle but was informed that the claims process could take up to two months.

The incident has renewed concerns over maintenance standards and emergency response procedures on Skyway Stage 3, one of Metro Manila’s busiest toll roads.

DAILY TRIBUNE sought a comment from Skyway management but no response had been received as of press time.

Not a first

Garcia’s account echoed a string of similar complaints from motorists using the elevated tollway, which has seen sporadic reports of loose metal grates, exposed rebar and debris falling from overhead structures since portions of it were opened to the public.

In one widely reported 2019 incident, a 58-ton coping beam being installed for the Skyway project fell after detaching from its hook, snarling traffic near Balintawak.

While that earlier case involved an active construction site rather than a completed roadway, critics said it underscored longstanding concerns about quality control on the project even before it opened to regular traffic.

The Skyway Stage 3 is operated by Skyway O&M Corp., a subsidiary of Asian giant San Miguel Corp.

Motorist groups have periodically called for stricter, more frequent structural inspections of elevated tollways, particularly the expansion joints and metal road plates which are prone to heavy wear from the heavy daily vehicle volume on the Skyway.