Remember the Metro Cebu Traffic Authority?

I read The FREEMAN and SunStar report last Friday that a new Traffic Body was formally formed, called the Metro Cebu Traffic Council and that businessman Bunny Pages was appointed as its chairman. In all fairness, I refrained from making comments about this simply because I’m one of the few who can say “I’ve been there and done that.” More importantly, I was no longer involved in traffic management and I didn’t want to send the signal that I was still interested in that job, which gave me my hypertension!

 But no doubt, this new group took people by surprise that all of a sudden it sounds like it is already functioning. Just read the succeeding news reports in our local dailies the last few days of people hoping that the new traffic body can solve the traffic mess. This even made transport groups rather apprehensive about this supposedly new body.

 Good thing I met with Mr. Bunny Pages yesterday in our Sons of David group. I was able to get an idea of what is this group that they just formed, that it is really just a loose organization where he facilitates meetings with the traffic heads of the Metro Cebu Cities. I then gave Bunny my inputs that we already held two summits during the first year of my term as CITOM Chief in the year 2001, the 1st Cebu City Traffic Summit and the 1st Metro Cebu Traffic Summit, a gathering of all stakeholders from sidewalk vendors associations, jeepney, bus and taxi groups, including the Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc. (CCCI) and NGOs.

 Bunny told me that he never knew of this. I added that the output of that summit resulted with a consensus to have our Congressmen come up with a law to create the Metro Cebu Traffic Authority (MCTA) something many Cebuanos believed in. This was supposed to be an offshoot of the Metro Cebu Development Authority (MCDA) which then Rep. Raul del Mar tried to pass into law, patterned after Manila’s MMDA. However, it ran into a political storm, when then Sen. Sonny Osmeña and then Mayor Tomas Osmeña who were at odds at each other questioned who among them would handle or run that facility. Hence this measure was doomed from the start.

 At the end of the two Summits, we then asked Rep. Raul del Mar to shift his proposed MCDA into the MCTA. But then, Mayor Tom wasn’t eager to pursue this move because he wanted Cebu City to control it, after all, Cebu City was light years ahead of the other Metro Cities when it came to traffic management. Because the stakeholders from the transport or the business groups ended up with a blank wall, nothing was done, despite the numerous article that we wrote about the creation of MCTA and what it would do to help come up with a unified traffic body for Metro Cebu.

 Bunny proudly told us that he already scored a success when he reported a huge pothole in Mandaue City and after he called Mayor Jonas Cortes, this problem was immediately fixed. I then told Bunny that this body should refrain from doing what every one else is doing, complaining about potholes or petty corruption of traffic enforcers or even their lack of training as this is exactly what radio commentators, even columnists and other pundits are doing on a daily basis. It is time for a group to look at the bigger picture as to what traffic should be in Metro Cebu in the next 10 years!

 Unfortunately, Bunny simply told me that the previous Traffic Summits did not result to anything in the last 9 years, which I submit is true. I told him that his group should pick up from where we left off but he’s mind is apparently made up on whatever plans he has. But a few hours later, CITOM Chief Jack Jakosalem texted me that Bunny texted him that I was upset for not being invited to that meeting. Again, let me clarify that I no longer have any official capacity to be invited in that meeting. Unfortunately, Bunny Pages misunderstood my intentions in trying to enlighten him as he embarks on this new mission, where others have already tread.

 What we need are thinkers who have the vision of what traffic ought to be in ten years because no one and I mean no one amongst our political leadership is looking at solving this problem, much more planning for our future. Traffic Summits are not an end by itself. It doesn’t solve traffic problems, it merely points us to the problems that we need to solve in this country where we are notoriously famous for not solving our problems. Traffic is one of them. So Bunny should look at the forest, not the leaves!

 Take the case of the recent “Kuliglig” incident in the streets of Manila. This was a classic example of sheer tolerance by our politicians, which resulted in the poor people believing unto themselves that they have a right to use our streets, while the rest of the rabble need to secure a driver’s license. We too have our trisikad problem. If at all, the last controversy on traffic was at the height of construction of the Banilad Flyover, which was opposed by Mr. Bunny Pages. But traffic is now smooth at the Foodland corner.

* * *

Email: [email protected]