As Deputized Agents Of Lto-7: Police to enforce traffic laws at TCH

CEBU, Philippines — Over 100 police personnel will be deputized by the Land Transportation Office (LTO)-7 to address the increasing number of accidents, mostly caused by reckless driving, at the Trans-Central Highway in Balamban town.

A total of 114 police personnel, 10 personnel from the Balamban Traffic Management Office, and two from the Provincial Mobile Force Company recently graduated from the deputation training hosted by LTO-7 in Balamban.

LTO-7 regional director Glen G. Galario said the newly-trained deputized agents will help enforce traffic laws at the Trans-Central Highway.

“This partnership is through the efforts of Cebu Provincial Director Police Colonel Percival Zorrilla and Balamban Mayor Ace Stefan Binghay who communicated to our office the plan to deputize PNP personnel and local enforcers of Balamban to minimize the increasing traffic-related incidents in TCH," said Galario in a statement.

“We are very grateful to Mayor Binghay for hosting our deputation seminar together with over a hundred PNP personnel in the province. This is one of the requirements for them to get their authority as deputized agents of LTO," Galario added.

Zorrilla called a meeting last month to gather stakeholders, the PNP of Balamban, as well as the government agencies involved to address the increasing number of accidents in TCH within the jurisdiction of Balamban.

The agenda of the said meeting was to discuss the "current traffic situation, identification of specific problem areas, and the exploration of viable strategies to enhance traffic management and safety measures."

The meeting was also aimed at harnessing collective expertise and insights to implement practical and sustainable solutions to the problem at TCH.

To further strengthen the collaboration, Galario decided to conduct deputation training for some of the police personnel in the province to help LTO's current personnel in implementing traffic laws in the accident-prone area.

Binghay thanked LTO-7 for its quick response to their request to address the traffic-related issues in TCH.

“With the new LTO deputized regulation officers in Balamban, road safety & law enforcement will now surely be imposed. Rest assured that Balamban is supportive of the mandate of the LTO 7," said the mayor.

Just recently, Galario also issued the authority to deputize 14 patrol officers of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.

LTO-7 Operations Division Chief Atty. Vicente Gador Jr. said that the 14 patrol officers were trained at the LTO Central Office and were officially issued their Temporary Operator's Permits (TOPs).

Currently, LTO 7 has a total of 224 deputized personnel in the region who are authorized to apprehend violators of the traffic laws in Central Visayas. — (FREEMAN)