EDITORIAL - Traffic council

There’s is now a council created to deal primarily with the traffic situation in the country. Launched yesterday in Cebu, the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic was established upon the order of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Forming part of the council in Cebu are various government agencies. These include the Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the LGUs of Cebu and their traffic arms.

The council’s primary function is to maintain order along the streets. Part of its job is to apprehend colorum vehicles, aside from regularly doing monitor in the campaign against various traffic violations.   

“The only way to find the solution is to know the problem. The support and cooperation of all the LGUs in solving traffic is very important. Traffic laws are the simplest laws but the most abused laws,” said Undersecretary Jose Garcia, general manager of the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Well, the council’s creation is just one of those proposals that authorities are trying to implement in an attempt to once and for all stamp out the traffic problem that has been pestering the metro for years.

However, there’s the rub. While we do not see anything wrong with the council’s creation, whether it would really serve its intended purpose - that is to help ease traffic especially in Metro Cebu - remains to be seen.

With Metro Cebu being saddled with the problem on narrow roads and increasing volume of vehicles, we cannot really prevent incidents from occurring. Many incidents happen not because some motorists forget to practice discipline while on the road but because we continue to embrace poor infrastructure.

If it wants to succeed, a large part of the council’s operation must include pushing for infrastructure system development.