Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh was in UP Diliman (UPD) on May 26 to attend the ceremonial launch of the campus as a future Road Safety Park.

Yeoh was in the country as the Glo-bal Ambassador for the Make Roads Safe campaign, a global coalition coordi-nated and funded by the FIA Founda-tion for the Automobile and Society. As part of the worldwide campaign, the United Nations, a member of the coalition, has declared 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

Yeoh on an e-kot jeepney, with NCTS Director Jose Regin Regidor
driving

The University, through the UP National Center for Transportation Stu-dies (NCTS), as well as coalition mem-ber, the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP), and Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) are partners in the UP Diliman Model Road Traffic Safety Zone project, which began in 2008.

The first phase of the project inclu-ded the installation of road signs that adhere to international standards, the training of traffic enforcers on road safety rules and regulations, the imple-mentation of the one-way traffic scheme along the University’s Academic Oval, and the provision of a separate lane for non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians. All of these were executed with the support of the UPD Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs. The project is now in its second phase.

Apart from the launch, Yeoh was also given a tour of the campus via an electric jeep, another project of the NCTS.

Meanwhile, TMP recently provided a P1.5 million grant for the development and production of DVD-based training materials to be used by the NCTS in its Training Course for Public Utility Dri-vers.

The course is provided by NCTS in cooperation with TMP, AAP, and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). The partnership also includes the UPD College of Mass Communication Foundation, Inc. (UP-CMCFI), which will be tapped to conceptualize, write, and produce the required video materials. (With a report from Malaya)