Makati traffic enforcers speak five languages

They may look like ordinary traffic enforcers, but Makati City’s Department of Pubic Safety (DPS) personnel are more than your average public servant for they can speak different languages.

Apart from Filipino and English, these street marshals can greet as well as explain to you the traffic violation you committed in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

DPS chief Hermie San Miguel said his men underwent special language courses to improve their power to communicate with foreigners.

Makati City’s traffic enforcers, more commonly known as MAPSA operatives, man some of the busiest streets in Metro Manila. And because they work in the country’s financial and business capital, where high-rise corporate buildings stand, they interact with a lot of foreign nationals especially in the central business district (CBD).

San Miguel, in an interview with The Star, said having skills to communicate with foreign nationals is a must in Makati City.

"We actually have a series of seminars for them. Module 1 gives them the basics," he said.

The first stage of the program, he explained, improves conversational English and teaches an enforcer basic Japanese, Chinese, and Korean phrases.

"Gusto naman natin na hindi sila napapahiya," San Miguel said, noting that DPS personnel are either college graduates or undergraduates who completed at least 72 units in college.

He said most Japanese, Chinese and Korean nationals who drive in Makati City often speak little English so it really pays to teach traffic enforcers how to speak their language.

San Miguel added that his men are also taught to be friendly and courteous in dealing with foreign nationals who, at times, carry international driver’s licenses.

He said a lot of business offices in the locality have non-Filipino executives and employees who drive their way to and from the workplace.

San Miguel expressed pride in knowing that DPS personnel have an edge in so far as communication skills are concerned.