Some House members have reservations about two-day coding scheme

Car volume has been blamed as one of the main causes of the heavy traffic in Metro Manila. (File photo by EDWIN BACASMAS / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Some members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday expressed reservations about the two-day coding scheme proposed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The lawmakers agreed that, even with a two-day coding scheme, some drivers would just buy new cars and use them to get around the coding scheme.

READ: MMDA chair proposes 2-day coding scheme to ease traffic

Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting said a better public transportation system would be the solution to the Metro Manila’s traffic woes.

“Solutions to the traffic problem need to be studied and coordinated,” Tambunting said. “The real problem of traffic congestion is rooted in the volume of vehicles on our major thoroughfares. The logical solution is to reduce volume. The question is how? Without a reliable mass transport system, how will our citizens react to a vehicle volume reduction scheme like this.”

“Quite possibly they will just buy more vehicles-which is the trend we see with the removal of the window hours,” he added. “What we need is a more coordinated approach to the problem.”

Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice agreed that riders could just skirt around the two-day coding scheme by buying new cars.

“Well, the problem is really mass transport and population density in Metro Manila,” Erice said. “Temporarily the two day coding scheme will ease the volume until the acquisition of more vehicles by motorists and transport companies.”

Erice said another solution to the traffic probelm would be to transfer government offices from Metro Manila to Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga to ease traffic in the metropolitan.

Quezon City Rep. Winnie Castelo said the MMDA should first strictly implement traffic rules, as well as use the city”s inner streets as an alternative to ease traffic.

“It would be unfair to the public when there are other available means that has not yet been tapped,” Castelo said.

Instead of training eyes on private cars, the MMDA should target instead public utility vehicles, which take up so much space in Metro Manila’s thoroughfares, Castelo said.

“Private vehicle owners made their share,” he said. “We can make public utilities take their turn now as there are a lot of buses half full and half empty at Edsa even on peak times.”

“Let’s exhaust first all means to decongest traffic like corruption-free traffic enforcement,” he added.

For his part, Deputy Speaker Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said he would be willing to give MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim the benefit of the doubt on the experiment to ease traffic through a two-day coding scheme.

“Considering the traffic woes that our countrymen are going through, I am willing to support any experiment that can possibly ease up our traffic problem,” Quimbo said. “At this point, I want to give General Lim the benefit of the doubt and give him the support he needs to carry out decisive reforms.”

Quimbo said a reliable mass transit system remains the more permanent solution to the traffic crisis.

“Until a working, reliable and acceptable mass transport system is put in place, traffic will continue to be a festering problem,” he said. /atm