Management Association of the Philippines says Metro Manila still needs traffic czar

MANILA, Philippines - While welcoming the recent orders of President Benigno S. Aquino III to transfer traffic management duties on EDSA from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) of the Philippine National Police and assigning Secretary to the Cabinet Rene Almendras as the traffic problem’s “point man,” the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) is still pushing for the appointment of a “traffic czar” for the metro.

“Although Sec. Almendras has been assigned to take charge, an important component of such a plan is the appointment of a single point of authority, such as a traffic czar, duly empowered by the president,” said Eduardo Yap, chair of the MAP’s Traffic, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in a statement.

“We need a traffic czar not just to serve as a coordinator of different agencies working together to ease traffic flow, but one who is empowered to exercise executive powers to mobilize resources of the different national government agencies in order to expeditiously and effectively implement measures to provide the earliest relief from traffic congestion gripping the capital city. Title is everything to many. A mere coordinator is an invitation to be ignored,” added Yap.

Yap said he believes the president has enough powers to write an executive order creating the position of a “Traffic Czar” whose office will serve as the nerve center of all public and private efforts in managing and solving the traffic management problems not just in Metro Manila, but in other metropolitan cities of the country where signs of traffic congestion are also beginning to appear and begging for solutions as well.

“We are seeing traffic congestion in just about everywhere - even in Cebu, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Baguio, Davao and Zamboanga. Traffic is not just a problem of residents in Metro Manila, but is beginning to affect even those cities in the provinces. Let’s nip this in the bud as early as now,” Yap said.

Yap said the appointment of a traffic czar for Metro Manila is one of the measures being pushed by MAP as part of a holistic traffic management plan.

In addition to the appointment of a traffic czar for Metro Manila, MAP is also recommending the installation of concrete lane delineators at all bus stops along the entire stretch of EDSA to ensure efficient traffic flow.

“This will spare HPG troopers to supervise other critical hotspots, such as the problematic EDSA-Taft Avenue and Gil Puyat Ave-Taft junctions,” MAP said in a statement.

Meanwhile, MAP is calling for the expansion of the president’s order to include the C5 Road which is the second most important circumferential road that provides an alternative route to relieve traffic load from EDSA and to other national roads, such as Katipunan and Commonwealth avenues.

“Choke points on these roads degrade their efficiency. Equally important are radial roads that intersect EDSA. They are important branch network of EDSA that allows circulation and distribution of traffic. These radial roads must be included in the directive. They include Gil Puyat, Shaw Blvd., Ortigas Avenue, E. Rodriguez, among others,” MAP said.

“Solving this humongous traffic problem necessitates collective action. There should be symmetry of actions. Government must know what its left hand is doing. Without a comprehensive traffic management plan, traffic woes would still haunt us even after two or three years from now and we cannot be made to suffer for that long. Let’s unite, and solve this traffic congestion problem ASAP,” MAP added.