Cebu Makeup Artists: April 2011

Many were shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic passing of Filipino actor and model AJ Perez who was killed in a highway accident in Tarlac early Sunday morning. One of them was Cebu makeup artist Jessie Glova who immediately posted this photo on his Facebook page along with a caption that read, "My condolences to the family of AJ Perez. May your soul rest in peace...so sayang such a very fine young actor." He also noted the message on AJ's shirt saying, "Read his shirt. I cried when I read it." As an official makeup artist of the ABS-CBN network, Jessie Glova has worked with AJ before.

AJ Perez was only eighteen years old and had a bright future ahead of him. It's too bad that he had to die so young. Reports mentioned that he was on his way back to Manila from the Kapamilya Karavan show in Dagupan City for the annual Bangus Festival when a passenger bus collided with the ABS-CBN van that carried him and five other companions which included his father.

This incident angers me on several different levels. Doesn't it all sound too familiar? It was only last August when beauty queen Melody Gersbach was killed on the road when another passenger bus collided with the car she was riding in.

Now I'm sure you and I know the roads in the Philippines all too well to realize that they are not safe. There are driving rules in place but they are not properly enforced by the authorities. And because they are not properly enforced by the authorities, people loosely if not rarely follow them. When I visited Cebu two years ago and my cousin picked me up at airport, I was praying Our Fathers and Hail Marys all the way home because lanes were non-existent to him. During a two-hour drive to the province, I held my breath and got tense every time he would overtake another vehicle on the narrow highway because right ahead was a huge truck coming our way at full speed. The next week a jeepney hit the cab my friend and I were in because the driver failed to check his rear view mirror for traffic before getting back on the main road. It was a minor accident but nevertheless the result of reckless driving.

Back in 1991, my parents were badly injured in a motorcycle accident when my Dad hit a drunk woman crossing the street out of nowhere. On top of that, they had to pay for all her medical bills.

Growing up there were countless times when I would see crosses and candles by the roads marking where someone had died from a traffic accident.

Starting today the bus firm whose vehicle caused the road accident that killed AJ Perez has been suspended for 30 days by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). But this only seems to be a short- term solution. Quite a shallow and an overused punishment if you ask me. The authorities have done this before to other bus firms but I don't believe it offers any long-term solutions. Once the suspension is lifted these buses go on operating in the same careless manner. Imagine how many lives can be saved in the future if people were more careful on the road. If people followed traffic regulations all the time and were more conscious of safety, it would save us Filipinos a great deal of heartaches and medical bills. If not now, then when?

Drive safely everyone.