Give HPG more money, QC lawmaker proposes

An administration lawmaker has proposed a “decent” increase in the budget of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) which has taken over the task of untangling the daily traffic gridlock on Edsa.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said the 2016 budget of the Philippine National Police should be realigned to take into consideration the HPG’s expanded role in the management of Metro Manila’s 26-kilometer main thoroughfare.

The PNP will get roughly 40 percent of the P154.4-billion budget allocated for the Department of Interior and Local Government next year.

Increased responsibilities

The House of Representatives is currently holding public hearings on the proposed 2016 General Appropriations Act or national budget.

“We will decide in the hearings how much the HPG needs to make sure that it fulfills its new assignment from the President,” said Castelo.

Castelo said a change in the PNP budget was necessary considering that the HPG’s increased responsibilities were given long after Malacañang had submitted the 2016 proposed budget to Congress.

Castelo said the PNP-HPG would need a bigger budget to boost its manpower, conduct training on traffic management and install more closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to help monitor the traffic flow, specifically at the six choke points along Edsa.

Man more streets

“We are aligning the PNP budget and urging them to man more streets because traffic relatively improved when they took over,” Castelo said.

Aside from Edsa, Castelo requested that the PNP-HPG also handle major arteries connected to the highway such as C-5, Katipunan, España, Quezon Avenue, South Luzon Expressway, Ortigas Avenue, Marcos Highway and Roxas Boulevard.

The traffic on Edsa has become a major cause of stress for commuters in Metro Manila. Ongoing infrastructure projects have exacerbated the road congestion. Traffic authorities also point to the need to strictly enforce traffic rules and reconsider the designation of bus stops and U-turn lanes. Identified choke points were Balintawak, Cubao, Ortigas, Shaw Boulevard, Guadalupe and Taft Avenue.—Gil Cabacungan