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.