Laws to address our traffic woes

The traffic problem in the Banilad-Talamban corridor of Cebu City, Ban-Tal, for reasons of brevity, is not exclusive to the affected citizens in the area. Truth to tell, it is not just Cebu City and its immediate environment that are afflicted with this problematic phenomenon. Many parts of the country have their own traffic jams too. It just happened that a less publicized experiment by our authorities caught too many people unaware that the projected cooperation by Ban-Tal road users did not come along.  

The fact that many people, from the top leadership of our city to those affected thereby, are discussing it only shows the spiraling gravity of the situation. Some solutions have been suggested and it is good to acknowledge the fact that our community leaders are willing to try anything that might be of help.

Government leaders and private partners keep on hearing among such ideas as widening the roads as to push them to scrounge for necessary funds. Indeed, when the width of the highway from San Jose de la Montaña where there is a fly-over to Barangay Talamban and even onwards to Barangay Pit-os, is expanded, the resulting increased road space could accommodate more vehicles. Congestion will be thus, be remedied. Theoretically, the big volume of vehicles now plying the area could be spread in wider spaces as to ease the traffic flow.

This kind of an approach may be replicated in other cities presently experiencing similar traffic problem. To be able to absorb more vehicles on their streets, local government officials can allocate funds to widen road space by increasing the number of lanes in their road networks. In fact, the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu are perceptively doing more road expansion jobs than what our city is undertaking.

Believe me, simply addressing the road space requirement is not a lasting solution. Let us suppose that billions of pesos will be allocated to widen the roads. While this physical solution may achieve some relief, it is but temporary. There will always be more cars, trucks and other vehicles to be sold. Selling of vehicles will not stop. The number of newly acquired ones will be added to those already running so that sooner than later, they will occupy the very space just built. And the cycle repeats. 

Parallel to this current demand to do infra structure projects, there is this need to me, more important, for a legal infrastructure. Since we started to discern the emergence of this traffic problem, it has been waiting to be accomplished. Actually, this necessity is less expensive and more lasting. It will also be more effective to address our present concern. A law has to be passed by Philippine Congress because local sanggunians with their limited authority, cannot pass laws necessary to meet this issue.

1. Today, as it has been for years, vehicles whose use is disallowed by other states have been sold here in the Philippines.  There should be a horde of reasons for foreign statutes to prohibit the use of these things abroad. Let me cite two. First, these vehicles have become inefficient and maintaining them is uneconomical. Second, and this is believed to be worse, they are heavy contributors to air pollution.

Unfortunately, these units, called surplus, are dumped on our shores and are allowed to run here. For instance, this thing we call multicabs, sourced mainly in Japan, get a large space of our roads. If we remove them from our streets, immediately, we not only improve our traffic flow, we help improve our environment. A law therefore, has to be passed by Congress, adopting the reasons for their disuse in foreign countries.

2. There are also surplus engines coming from foreign sellers. Most of these machines are attached to old chassis and registered to run on our streets. Since they are of the same character and nature as surplus vehicles, their foreign ban can likewise be supported by the same ratio legis for our legislature to act on.

Cebuano congressmen can work on these two pieces of legislation as early as now. I am certain that should they give their best, we can make such laws effective soon and without doubt, we shall see their good impact upon our traffic concerns.

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