BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Hermie Cala was crossing a pedestrian lane along Megaworld Boulevard in Barangay Airport, Mandurriao district when a speeding modern jeepney hit him on March 20. The 55—year-old call center agent died later in the hospital due to severe head injuries.
Due to the impact, Cala was thrown about five meters away from the minibus driven by Mark Joevel Babiera, 24, of Barangay San Antonio, San Miguel town, Iloilo.
Mayor Jerry Treñas subsequently called on transport operators to have their modern jeepney drivers undergo re-training on traffic discipline by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the City Traffic Management Unit “to avoid similar incidents in the future.”
In a separate statement, Megaworld’s Iloilo Business Park (IBP) said the accident “was a stern reminder to motorists to strictly adhere to traffic policies, especially in complying with speed limits.”
“It is unfortunate that such a reckless disregard to basic traffic rules of our estate resulted in the death of the victim.”
IBP assured that it will cooperate with the city government and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the ongoing investigation of the incident.
More than a month later, a modernized jeepney was caught on dash camera beating the red light at an intersection still along the boulevard, on Thursday morning, April 18.
In a press briefing, Mayor Treñas said the city’s traffic enforcers are prohibited by law from entering the Megaworld premises to enforce traffic ordinance.
“Unfortunately, Megaworld is a private property,” the Treñas said.
But the mayor said he tasked lawyer David Abraham Garcia, from the mayor’s office, and lawyer Rosie Garcia, executive officer of the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO), to talk to the legal department of the Megaworld on how to address such an issue.
“Maybe, we can deputize their security guards to enforce traffic ordinances. They are still studying it and will report back to me,” said Treñas.
He said the city lawyers are also coordinating with the Taguig City Government to get insights on how they are deputizing security guards of the privately-operated township Bonifacio Global City to help enforce the city’s traffic ordinance.
The mayor said they had suggested to Megaworld to donate its boulevard to the city government through a usufruct donation. However, the mall management reportedly did not agree to such a proposal.
Deputizing private security personnel of Megaworld to manage traffic and enforce traffic ordinances can help augment the city’s traffic management efforts inside the mall premises.
However, the mayor stressed the proposal would include providing appropriate training to the security guards to manage traffic safely and efficiently, establishing clear guidelines and protocols for their duties, and ensuring that they have the necessary authority and support from local authorities to enforce traffic rules./PN
