Cops from the Cebu Police Provincial Office are shown attending a seminar conducted by the LTO-7 last May 14 in Balamban. | Courtesy of LTO-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — To reduce traffic incidents on the Transcentral Highway (TCH) in Balamban town, the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) will deputize police along this highly-traversed route.
In a press statement, LTO-7 Director Glen Galario is set to authorize police personnel to be part of LTO’s deputized agents.
A deputation seminar was held on May 14 at the E.S. Binghay Memorial Sports Complex in Barangay Sta. Cruz-Sto. Niño, Balamban town.
Attendees included 114 police personnel from the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), 10 from the Balamban Traffic Management Office, and two from the Provincial Mobile Force Company. The training was also part of Road Safety Month.
“This partnership is through the efforts of Cebu Provincial Director Police Colonel Percival Zorrilla and Balamban Mayor Ace Stefan Binghay who communicated to our office the plan to deputize PNP personnel and local enforcers of Balamban to minimize the increasing traffic-related incidents in TCH,” Galario said.
The LTO said Zorilla invited Galario to a meeting in April to gather stakeholders, Balamban police, and government agencies to address the rising number of accidents on the TCH within Balamban’s jurisdiction.
Zorilla explained the meeting’s agenda: discussing the current traffic situation, identifying problem areas, and exploring strategies to improve traffic management and safety.
Zorilla aimed to use the meeting to “harness collective expertise and insights to implement practical and sustainable solutions.”
TCH is the national highway connecting Cebu City to Balamban, where many vehicular accidents have been reported.
READ: Race car driver Lord Seno tells motorists to ‘go slow’ when traversing Transcentral Highway
Deputation training
In response, Galario decided to conduct deputation training for some police personnel in the province to assist the LTO in enforcing traffic laws in the accident-prone area.
However, the LTO stated that Galario clarified not all attendees will receive deputation authority.
“We will have to consult first on how many we can deputize to ensure that these deputation authorities will be used accordingly,” said Galario.
Froilan Jay Suarez from LTO-7’s Traffic Adjudication Section, Regional Training Officer Apollo Machachon, and the Traffic Safety Unit presented the lecture for the deputation.
Balamban Mayor Binghay thanked LTO-7 for quickly addressing the traffic issues on TCH.
“With the new LTO deputized regulation officers in Balamban, road safety & law enforcement will now surely be imposed. Rest assured that Balamban is supportive of the mandate of the LTO-7,” said Binghay.
Recently, Galario authorized 14 patrol officers from the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) to be deputized.
LTO-7 Operations Division Chief Vicente Gador Jr. said these 14 officers were trained at the LTO Central Office and were issued Temporary Operator’s Permits (TOPs).
Currently, LTO-7 has 224 deputized personnel in the region authorized to apprehend traffic law violators in Central Visayas. /clorenciana