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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Tuesday, May 9, 2017
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ILOILO City – The Transportation Management and Traffic Regulation Office (TMTRO) may be overhauled to make it more effective in restoring order on the city’s streets.
According to City Administrator Hernando Galvez, the city government is open to introducing changes in the TMTRO.
“We are in the process of reviewing everything,” he said.
One of the things being considered is for TMTRO to have regular employees.
Traffic auxiliaries are casual employees of the city government.
“Sa nakita naton, ang naga-supervise pareho man lang nila nga indi regular. Maayo nga butangan naton sang regular employees,” said Galvez.
He, however, did not say if the current TMTRO chief, Robert Foerster, and other key officials will be replaced.
Galvez said TMTRO appointments “should be based on merit and fitness.”
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog recently summoned TMTRO officials and personnel and pressed them to do better in, among others, easing traffic congestion and arresting traffic violators.
Mabilog also bared a plan to give incentives to traffic enforcers who apprehend traffic violators.
Some traffic enforcers make few arrests and giving incentives may motivate them to perform better, explained Galvez.
The city administrator, however, clarified that this proposal needed an ordinance.
Galvez also said the mayor’s plan will also have safety nets so it won’t be abused.
“There will be sanctions to traffic auxiliaries nga mangdakop nga wala sa lugar,” he said.
Mabilog bared this plan after a recent visit to Metro Manila.
“The mayor was told that traffic auxiliaries there were given incentives or share from the fines imposed on apprehended traffic violators,” said Galvez.
Recently, the alumni of University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) High School Batch 1987 proposed a project called “Abyan sa Dalan” (Friend on the Road) to solve the traffic congestion and other street problems in this city.
They proposed three activities: no-contact ticketing, child-safe sidewalks and publicized quality feedback.
In no-contact ticketing, citizens will be tapped to easily identify traffic violators.
It is a policy of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) that utilizes closed-circuit television (CCTV) digital cameras and other gadgets or technology to capture videos or images in apprehension.
“MMDA is using a quicker and faster way for capturing traffic violations wherein they are using the citizens. So here we are proposing that the city government will enforce existing ordinances and can also ask the citizen to help,” said Atty. Andre “Raj” Caipang Palacios.
All the fines collected through the no-contact ticketing will be directed to the city government.
“For the MMDA, they have collected P20-million fines. We are hoping that the same will happen here. We will try to enforce existing ordinances and therefore the fine will not be paid to the Land Transportation Office but to the city,” said Palacios./PN
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