In need of a master plan

Last week, we witnessed  traffic in Metro Manila at its worst. Last  Tuesday  it rained so  heavily it  led to flooding in many areas  and stranded thousands of commuters.  Some citizens were on the  streets for at least four hours and   got home at nearly 1 a.m. the next morning.

That is why President Aquino  ordered the  PNP Highway Patrol Group to  manage  traffic in Metro Manila, a task  which used to be handled by traffic enforcers of  the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Last Tuesday’s  gridlock was  the  HPG’s second day on the job managing traffic in Metro Manila.

Many are at a loss over  coming up with a solution.  Some experts say the problem is  impossible to unravel in Metro Manila. Authorities have identified chokepoints like areas where    vendors occupy part of the road and hinder the smooth flow of vehicles.  Another possible cause  is the number of unregistered public buses plying the highways.

And it seems that we in Metro Cebu are well on our way to duplicating  Metro Manila’s traffic woes.

This is why local government units should be proactive in  addressing worsening traffic congestion  in our city.

I would humbly suggest that Metro Cebu have a mass transit system  to provide  commuters efficient public transport. Not only that,  carpooling must be encouraged to  minimize the number of cars on the road. It is  legally feasible for the government to make it difficult  to buy new vehicles similar to what is being done in Singapore and Japan.

It is  important that a government entity be created   to coordinate  traffic management in  neighboring local government units as the traffic situation in one locality affects the surrounding localities.

We need to learn from  Metro Manila’s traffic mess. We must use  the knowledge of  urban experts to come up with a master plan for Metro Cebu. Let’s not leave it to politicians who don’t have the  expertise unless they become  expert traffic managers through studies and experience.

Here in Cebu, there is a suggestion that we  call in the PNP Highway Patrol Group the way  it was done in Metro Manila.

But I have  serious reservations because of  the HPG’s less than savory track record  in graft and corruption. There are  reports of HPG personnel extorting money from vehicle drivers plus the involvement of a number of its men in the murder of Cebu  lawyer Noel Archival.

So far,  the Cebu City Traffic Office is doing a good job in managing traffic  though there is a need to  discipline many erring drivers of both private and public vehicles. The best arrangement would have civilian  traffic enforcers supported by the police.

I also agree that  fines and other penalties for traffic violations be increased and that local traffic laws be strictly enforced.

If a drivers’ association takes it upon itself to  challenge our ordinances and laws, the Cebu city government shouldn’t blink. No one should be above the law as ours is a rule of law and not of men.

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Are Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) members  in the Cebu City Council in favor of  Mayor Rama’s proposal for the city government to immediately  pay off its loan for the construction of the South Road Properties (SRP) especially now that the city has  funds to pay up as promised by Mayor Rama? I am asking this because  BO-PK councilors are making it difficult for the city to pay the debt  by  asking for many documents and reports before it considers the supplemental budget proposed by the executive department.

At the same time, in order to embarrass the mayor, the council passed a resolution that mandated the payment of the incentive pay of City Hall employees.  But since a resolution  is not  an appropriation, it does not authorize the release of funds from government coffers.  I can only surmise that the BO-PK councilors’ move was a gimmick.

I hope the City Council, with allies of the   BO-PK,  put the interests of the city above anything else.