Senators urge Tolentino, transport leaders to shape up

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino personally managed traffic in front of the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday morning. Photo by MMDA PIO

If Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)  chairman Francis  Tolentino  is planning to run  on  a platform of solving  Manila’s traffic woes,  “then make sure you solve  the problem,” Senator Sonny Angara  said  on Thursday.

“Kasi sa akin we don’t need a traffic czar dahil klarong-klaro naman who’s in charge ‘di ba (For me, we don’t need a traffic czar because it’s clear who is in charge, right)?” Angara, an administration ally, said during a weekly forum at the Senate.

READ: Tolentino as traffic cop draws mixed reactions from motorists

“It’s the MMDA for Metro Manila, you have the DOTC (Department of Transportation  and Communications) for transportation and, we know who’s in charge of the MRT (Metro Rail Transit), we know who’s in charge of the LRT (Light Railway  Transit),” he said.

Angara said  each candidate  for  higher  office in 2016  must lay down  an infrastructure or  transport  plan, noting  the government’s lack of a long term plan to address the traffic, not only in Metro Manila but also in big cities and  provinces.

Senator  Ferdinand  “Bongbong”  Marcos  Jr., meanwhile,  lamented that while the Philippines has an existing light rail system that could help ease the traffic in the metropolis, it was “plagued not only with serious safety and reliability issues, poor maintenance, and overcrowding but also allegations of corruption.”

“Construction of new roads and fixing the trains will take some time, but traffic congestion can at least be partly solved by consistently enforcing discipline on our roads,” Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on public works, said in a statement.

“Without consistent enforcement of road discipline, the traffic situation will not improve even if the traffic czar of the metropolis himself acts as a traffic enforcer,” he added.

Marcos said discipline should “come from the top,” that is why, he said, it is important that merit, and not political consideration, should guide the appointment of leaders of traffic and law enforcement agencies.

“Corrupt and erring lower-level officers cannot be corrected by superiors who are not above reproach. The next administration must ensure that discipline is the rule throughout every rank of law enforcement,” said the senator.

He said traffic congestion and an overworked public transit system have a serious negative impact on productivity and well-being of workers, as well as the profitability of businesses.

Marcos noted a study of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which calculated the cost of traffic at P2.4 billion a day and could rise to P6 billion a day in 2030 if adequate intervention is not in place by that time.

READ: Manila’s traffic jams cost $57 million a day

“The next administration should focus on expanding the transportation infrastructure, as well as providing better training and proper equipment to law enforcement and for the orderly conduct of our transport system,” he said. Maila Ager/IDL