Fixing problems in MCIA by GMR-Megawide

I flew to Manila last Wednesday to attend the 80th birthday anniversary of a dear old family friend, Mr. Johnny Litton who had a great Hollywood bash at the Dusit Thani Hotel. For a Wednesday, traffic was really bad in Manila, the taxi driver told me that we had to take the longer route via Roxas Blvd from the airport, and I thought, that meant passing by Baclaran's Redemptorist Church on a Wednesday. But surprisingly traffic in Baclaran was light, but entering Makati was snarled traffic all the way.

I returned yesterday and anticipated bad traffic in Mandaue. But the traffic congestion began at the arrival area for the Mactan Cebu International Airport. Since I had to wait for my daughter to arrive, I stood in the middle of this traffic congestion and took pictures so I could give it to the airport authorities. It was quite timely that our special guest at the Rotary Club of Cebu (mother club) yesterday was GMR-Megawide consortium's Andrew Acquaah Harrison. So I showed him my photos of how bad traffic was.

During our stint at MCIA, we instituted a diagonal parking where vehicles enter into the arrival terminal on the leftmost lane and park diagonally to fetch passengers. Then they exit on the rightmost lane, which should be free as it was a no-loading zone. This was working very well until a new management in MCIAA came in and undid what we installed and today, traffic is very chaotic! Good thing that Mr. Harrison told us that by next week there will be no parked vehicles allowed, it will just be a loading and unloading area.

Of course the best news we heard is that MCIA, through its private sector representative, Engr. Ricky Dakay who is also a past president of the Rotary Club of Cebu and Mr. Harrison will commit to the construction of the second runway for Mactan. Mind you, Rotarians who are difficult to please were happy to hear the good news of what's happening in MCIA under the GMR-Megawide group.

The only problem left is what Mr. Harrison told the Rotarians, that by the time the new Terminal 2 is done, their consortium would increase air traffic to Cebu to over 10 million passengers annually. But if we do not prepare the road network going to and from MCIA, especially in the Mandaue areas, you can foresee a great volume in traffic there unless city planners come up with a scheme to improve the traffic flow in those congested areas.

*  *  *

A law banning small children from riding as motorcycle passengers has been signed by President Benigno Aquino III. Republic Act NO. 10666 bans any person from driving (when you refer to a motorcycle, the operative word is "ride" not drive, you drive a car or bus, but not a motorcycle) a two-wheeled motorcycle with a child on board on public roads "where there is heavy volume of vehicles, there is a high density of fast-moving vehicles or where a speed limit of more than 60 km/h is imposed."

As this law states, "only children who could comfortably plant their feet on the foot peg and who could wrap their arms around the driver may ride as motorcycle passengers. They should also wear a standard protective helmet."

Violators of this law will be fined P3,000 on their first offense and P5,000 for the second offense. On the third offense, violators will be fined P10,000 and will have their driver's license suspended for a month. Violators beyond the third time will have their licenses automatically revoked.

If you ask me, this is a good law. I fully agree that small children should  not be riding on motorcycles. But the big question is: is this law enforceable? Take the case of the Helmet Law, it is only enforceable in the major cities that have an active traffic enforcers. But even in Cebu City, all you need to do is go to the Doña Modesta Gaisano St. leading to Beverly Hills and you will see motorcycle riders violating this law with impunity.

I am willing to bet big money that this good law will not be enforced at all simply because enforcement of traffic laws in this country is dismal at best. For instance, every single day we see motorists violate the simple double yellow line, which means for motorists not to cross or even let their tires touch it. But I have to see an enforcer apprehend anyone for crossing the double yellow line. God knows when you pass main thoroughfares like Escario St. you will see many motorcycles ride against traffic.

It was for this very reason why when we were running the Cebu City Traffic Operations and Management, we installed a concrete barrier that forced motorists to stay on their lane. Well, apparently, Mayor Michael Rama who prides himself to strictly follow the rule of law in the case of that coffee house in Don Jose Avila St. have those concrete barriers removed along Mango Ave. so motorists could not violate the double yellow line. Yet those traffic violations happened all the time because no one apprehends these traffic violators.

*  *  *

For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.