MMDA higher-ups take turns as ‘Big Brother’

Tim Orbos —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Top officials of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) are taking turns manning the command center as part of a new strategy for managing traffic congestion, especially during the holiday season.

MMDA general manager Tim Orbos said some traffic situations require management decisions that the Metrobase monitoring personnel do not have the authority to make.

“We’d like (monitoring) to be more intense, especially since we’re entering Christmas season. We took it upon ourselves to watch the roads,” Orbos said in an interview with reporters.

Orbos cited his own shift, which he took on Wednesday, during which he ordered the removal of orange barriers on Shaw Boulevard to free up a lane for vehicles.

For two hours a day, a pair of ranking officials will join the CCTV operators and monitoring personnel at the MMDA Metrobase. Ten officials, including Orbos, will take turns observing the two-hour shift, with a break at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

These officials are: Julia Nebrija, assistant general manager for operations; Neomie Recio, traffic engineering center; Cesar Ona, traffic discipline office; Josefina Faulan, assistant general manager for planning; Frisco San Juan Jr., deputy chair; Rochelle Macapili-Ona, head legal and legislative affairs staff; Cris Saruca, council secretariat; Edward Gonzales, road emergency group, and retired general Manny Gonzales, security investigation and intelligence office.

Orbos said it would also help keep enforcers in check knowing that management officers are monitoring the traffic situation.

The MMDA Metrobase is equipped with 80 monitors with feeds from 250 CCTV cameras.