Erap wants 690 traffic aides out, but they can reapply

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada wants 690 traffic enforcers dropped from City Hall’s payroll, citing their involvement in massive “extortion activities.”

Estrada on Monday ordered their mass resignation from the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB), which he said had been swamped with complaints. “This is to weed out misfits and those that have derogatory records,” he explained in a statement.

But he said the affected personnel may still “reapply, provided they meet the new set of stricter qualification standards” set by a newly formed selection committee.

While MTPB is being reorganized, Manila’s traffic management operations will be handled by the Traffic Enforcement Unit of the Manila Police District, as well as volunteers from barangay governments and other auxiliary units.

Without giving specifics, Estrada said he had learned of the “numerous complaints that many MTPB personnel are involved in extortion and other illegal activities.”

The local government has formed an interagency group together with barangay officials, local transport organizations, parents-teachers associations, business groups and other stakeholders to come up with long-term solutions to city’s traffic problems.

“This composite team will go around the city to look for traffic-prone areas, mount traffic management operations, including road clearing, and apprehend traffic violators,” Estrada added. —AIE BALAGTAS SEE