Bb International 2009 Melody Gersbach, the country's still making sense of her loss

Text and photos

By Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista

Everyone remembers Melody’s smile. She lit up the room when she walked in the launch for Binibining Pilipinas winners last year where I took these photos. It is difficult to forget someone that attractive and bright with a huge future ahead of her. The title of Binibining Pilipinas International seemed secondary to meeting and seeing someone like her.

When I saw the newspaper headlines announcing her death from yet another car accident, the first reaction was disbelief. The questions of how, when and where are easier to answer. What we don’t know is why. Barely a week before a bus accident took the lives of 41 people in Baguio, when it careened to a gorge. Before that there were innumerable accidents both in rural and urban centers. When you look at the trend of accidents on the road, now it seems inevitable that we lose someone like Melody.

Top 3 Binibining 2009 title holders-Bb International Melody Gersbach, Bb Universe Bianca Manalo and Bb World Marie Ann Umali

The urgency of the problem doesn’t really hit the public consciousness until we lose someone like her. There are so many issues tied to the problem of road safety. Even in the most industrialized countries where traffic rules, enforcement have been prioritized by governments, accidents still occur. How much more with a third world country like ours? When accidents like these happen we find out that truck drivers, bus drivers here are barely even literate, let alone aware of traffic and safety regulations. We also find out that some of them even take prohibited drugs just to be able to stay awake after driving extended hours.

So much has to be done by our government AND the driving public. The government has to clean the whole system which includes the Land Transportation office issuing the driver’s licenses. The PNP, MMDA and all those tasked to enforce traffic rules have to implement them fully. They vary from seatbelt laws, driving under the influence to smoke belching and many others that affect road safety. That’s why PNoy’s policy against corruption is so important. How would they be able to fix all of the problems when bus companies pay off LTO to speed up driver’s license applications? Or pay off traffic cops to let their buses off the hook when they violate traffic laws?

Bb International Melody Gersbach and Bb World Marie Ann Umali

The government isn’t alone in causing or fixing this problem. It’s up to every Filipino who is a driver and a pedestrian. The next time you see a sign saying “Wag tumawid nakamamatay (Dangerous, Don’t cross)” use the over or underpass. Walk the extra few meters to cross the pedestrian lane. As a driver, FIND OUT, review traffic rules and regulations and then follow them. Whenever you are too lazy to do so, just think of what happened to Melody Gersbach. She should still be alive, if only people took the time to be safer on the road.