Jaywalkers face P200 fine starting Tuesday

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino on Monday warned pedestrians against jaywalking as the agency’s 100-strong “Men in Red” crew would start going after those who refuse to use designated crossing lanes Tuesday.

According to him, the lives of pedestrians are always on the line whenever they cross the streets illegally.

“Our personnel rescued a man yesterday morning at the Quezon Avenue-Araneta Avenue intersection after he was hit by a car,” Tolentino told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

“If we [had] implemented the antijaywalking [policy today], the incident would never have happened,” he added.

The man was run down by a car around 11 a.m. as he was crossing the intersection, according to the official.

There used to be a footbridge in the area but the structure had to be removed to give way to the construction of an underpass.

Tolentino said rescue workers of the MMDA took the victim to a nearby hospital, adding that he had yet to verify what the man’s condition was.

“This is why the jaywalking ordinance is very, very important. The public’s lives are at stake,” the MMDA chairman pointed out. “Most of the time, the incidents are fatal and rarely do victims escape with a graze or a minor injury.”

The antijaywalking contingent of the MMDA—composed of 97 enforcers plus a number of trainers—will be deployed in several intersections on major streets in Metro Manila to monitor pedestrians.

Tolentino declined to identify where exactly the Men in Red would be because he “did not want the public to avoid the enforcers.”

On Monday, the MMDA went after jaywalkers but those who were accosted were let off with just a warning.

But starting Tuesday, violators will face a fine of P200 and if they cannot pay, they will undergo a 15-minute on-the-spot disaster preparedness seminar.

Citing statistics, Tolentino said that about 54 percent of road accidents involved vehicles hitting pedestrians, a figure that he considered “alarming.”