Appointment of ‘traffic czar’ not a priority—Palace

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

President Benigno Aquino III has no plans of formally appointing a traffic czar who will manage Metro Manila’s worsening traffic problem, a Palace official said on Saturday amid calls for Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras to mobilize government agencies in charge of traffic management.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said “unified action and integrated planning” among concerned agencies was more important than naming a single troubleshooter.

“Mainam siguro tingnan natin ‘yung sitwasyon at unawain natin na, sa mga malalaking problema katulad nito, ang mahalaga ay ‘yung unified action at integrated planning and execution ng mga action plans. Hindi pinakamahalaga ‘yung kung sino ang boss dahil ang boss naman talaga rito ay ang mamamayang Pilipino na pinaglilingkuran ng pamahalaan,” Coloma said.

(It would be wise to evaluate the situation and understand that concerning major problems such as this, what is important is unified action and integrated planning and execution of action plans. Who the boss is is not the most important thing; besides the real boss here are the Filipino people whom the government serves.)

“Wala tayong focus doon sa pagbibigay lamang ng titulo. Ang pinaka-importante rito, ano ba ang kongkretong aksyon o paano ba iniuugnay ‘yung lahat ng kilos, at ito naman ay well-coordinated sa Cabinet level, at si Secretary Almendras nga bilang Cabinet Secretary ang nagsasagawa nito,” he added.

(We are not focused on just giving titles. The most important thing here is, what concrete action [must be done] or how to coordinate all actions, and these are all well-coordinated at the Cabinet level, and it is Secretary Almendras as Cabinet Secretary who does this.)

Coloma said the government was hoping that other sectors, including the commuting public, will cooperate in solving traffic woes plaguing the metropolis.

“Mas mahalaga na tingnan natin kung paano nag-uugnayan, kung paano pinagtutulungan ng iba’t ibang ahensya, kaagapay ‘yung ating mga stakeholders sa hanay ng civil society, business community, port users, road users, [at mga] mamamayan. Lahat po tayo ay sangkot at may lahok po tayo diyan sa pagresolba ng problema,” he added.

(It is more important for us to examine how different agencies coordinate and how they cooperate, along with the stakeholders in civil society, business community, port users, road users and citizens. We are all concerned and involved in solving the problem.)

In a statement, the Management Association of the Philippines said the appointment of Almendras as Aquino’s point man in addressing traffic congestion was not enough, noting that what the Philippines needs is a traffic czar with executive power and not a mere coordinator.

READ: Biz group wants Palace exec Almendras to be traffic czar

Amid the worsening traffic situation in the National Capital Region, Aquino has also assigned the Philippine National Police’s Highway Patrol Group to lead traffic law enforcement in Edsa, Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare.

READ: Armed cops to man Edsa traffic | HPG to lead traffic law enforcement on Edsa | Palace on traffic jams: More patience please

The Philippines has recently been ranked fifth in a list of 59 countries with the worst traffic situation in the world, according to a crowd-sourcing survey site. Yuji Vincent Gonzales, INQUIRER.net/CDG

READ: PH has 5^th worst traffic in the world—survey