Makati cops release MMDA traffic enforcer

Hours after he was arrested and charged, a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic enforcer was ordered released by the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.

MMDA enforcer Eddie Cruz, 42, who was arrested for issuing a Traffic Violation Receipt (TVR) while manning the EDSA-Ayala last Sunday, was allowed to go home after the prosecutor who evaluated the complaint found no sufficient ground to have him detained and charged for abuse of authority.

MMDA legal division chief Emmanuel de Castro said the police "obviously had no case against him."

The traffic enforcer was only doing his job," he said.

Cruz became the first MMDA enforcer to land in jail following Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay’s ban on non-deputized traffic men in his city.

A 10-year veteran in the traffic enforcement service, Cruz said it was the first time he was arrested.

Because of the absence of documents from City Hall, police initially didn’t know what to charge the MMDA enforcer.

Cruz was eventually charged. He was later charged for a second offense, accused of issuing fake TVRs.   

De Castro said their man was just doing his job and denied not issuing fake traffic tickets as alleged.

"He is a traffic enforcer so how can you accuse him of usurping authority when he is in fact authorized to enforce traffic laws," he said.

QC mobilizes barangay officials

The Quezon City government has mobilized barangay officials in the enforcement of the Quezon City Traffic Code, which returns to the city government the power to manage and enforce traffic laws.

Mario Miguel Sanchez, assistant head of the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) said that as of yesterday, 483 officials from 97 out of 142 barangays have been deputized as traffic enforcers.

He said the officials have attended seminars and received on-the-job training in traffic enforcement and management.

Apart from barangay officials and traffic enforcers from the DPOS, the city government has deputized 50 traffic officers from the Quezon City Police District and four police officers from the University of the Philippines (UP).

In a report to Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., DPOD chief Manuel Sabalza said that in the first three months of operations, traffic enforcers have apprehended 32,133 violators.

The most common traffic violations are obstruction and illegal loading or unloading.

For motorcycle riders, the most common violations is driving without a helmet.

Caloocan’s Code

Following the tack adopted by Makati, Caloocan City yesterday declared the MMDA can no longer issued citation tickets or apprehend erring motorists and impose fines for traffic violations within its boundaries.

Caloocan City Mayor Enrico "Recom" Echiverri yesterday said this even as he urged both pedestrians and the motoring public to follow the city’s new Traffic Management Code.

"City Hall’s Reformed Department of Public Safety and Traffic Management (RDPSTM) will be implementing the city’s traffic code and no one else," Echiverri said. The mayor noted that any intervention by the MMDA on local traffic management would only be an unnecessary overlapping of functions.

"There is no need for the MMDA to do this. This will be a redundancy," said Echiverri.

The mayor, however, did not say if his men will arrest any MMDA traffic aide caught apprehending traffic violators in the city as is the case in Makati.

The city traffic code provides that except from the ordinance violation receipt (OVR) issued by the city, there shall be no other citation tickets to be used in any traffic violations committed within the territorial jurisdiction of Caloocan.

Also, no judicial entity can apprehend and impose traffic rules and regulations except the RDPSTM.

The mayor said that a duly deputized traffic enforcement officer can confiscate the driver’s license and issue an OVR, which will serve as temporary driver’s license in lieu of the confiscated one. He said that to date, the MMDA has not been deputized in any way by the city.

The City Traffic Code enacted Jan. 9, 2005 is in accordance with the Local Government Code of 1991 stating that among the basic services City Hall must provide its residents is adequate transportation facilities, including the orderly flow of vehicles. — Perseus Echeminada, Jerry Botial, Pete Laude