Samsam promises ‘Aksyon Agad’ policy in addressing city’s traffic woes

Talisay Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas (left) receives a briefing on the operation of the city’s command center from new city traffic czar Jonathan Tumulak (right). /Photo from the Facebook page of Samsam Gullas

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Talisay City Mayor Gerard Anthony “Samsam” Gullas activated today, July 2, the City Command Center that is located near the City Hall’s main gate.

The command center, a two-storey building donated by Aboitiz Foundation, will serve as the new home of the City of Talisay Traffic Operation Development Authority (CT-TODA) and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).

Its activation, Gullas said, is just a first step towards his commitment to ensure an “Aksyon Agad” traffic policy under his administration.

Gullas said he is bent on fulfilling an election promise that he made which is “to focus on solving various problems in our city, particularly the worsening traffic problem.”

“The command center also features a state-of-the-art monitoring system connected to 30 CCTV cameras placed in different strategic areas in the city. With this, we can assure our constituents that we are closely monitoring any incident in the city and immediately apply the appropriate response,” Gullas said in a Facebook post this morning.

During his first day in office on Monday, July 1, Gullas said he already met with his traffic czar and former Cebu South Bus Terminal operations head Jonathan Tumulak and gave instructions for Tumulak to focus on finding solutions to the city’s traffic woes.

“Following his appointment to the post, I have tasked Tumulak to carry out various reforms to improve the city’s traffic situation, including the strict implementation of traffic rules and regulations along the city’s major thoroughfares,” Gullas said.

He said that what the city needs is a mutli-sectoral approach for its “worsening traffic situation.”  This will include the conduct of “stakeholders dialogue with various transport sector members in the city and getting their cooperation on how we can solve the problem together.”

Gullas said that he already met with traffic personnel and assured them of his administration’s support in their operations. He also made a promise to implement improvements on their working conditions by increasing the benefits that they are now getting from City Hall.

“But while I vowed to improve their working conditions, I also urged them to treat their work with strict accountability and with genuine love for public service. I reminded them that working for the city government is a privilege and the people of this city expect no less from them in this regard,” he said.

To ensure accountability, a city-wide hotline will be established to receive complaints and grievances against abusive traffic enforcers.

“We will give further updates on this proposed traffic hotline as soon as I meet with the focal persons concerned,” Gullas added.