THE appointment of Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras as the point man of President Aquino in addressing the road congestion in Metro Manila—which is causing a P2.4-billion productivity loss daily—is not enough.
What this country needs, a ranking official of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said, is a traffic czar.
Eduardo H. Yap, chairman of the MAP traffic, transportation and infrastructure committee, said his group believes that President Aquino needs to appoint an official with executive power to direct public funds to resolving the Metro’s traffic woes.
A mere coordinator, he said, is not sufficient. A single point of authority should be put in place.
“We need a traffic czar, not just to serve as a coordinator of different agencies working together to ease traffic flow, but one who is empowered to exercise executive powers to mobilize resources of the different national government agencies in order to expeditiously and effectively implement measures to provide the earliest relief from traffic congestion gripping the capital city. Title is everything to many. A mere coordinator is an invitation to be ignored,” Yap said on Friday.
Almendras was directed by President Aquino to head the government’s initiative to improve the traffic in Metro Manila’s arteries. His appointment came a few days after Iglesia Ni Cristo members staged a four-day rally that paralyzed Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa).
Mr. Aquino also directed the National Police’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG) to take charge of traffic enforcement with focus on declogging six major choke points along Metro Manila’s main road.
These measures are among those recommended by the MAP and their adoption is an indication that the government is receptive to suggestions from the private sector, Yap pointed out.
However, despite the progress, the group shall continue to “be proactive and constructively engage the government in helping and supporting efforts to alleviate the crippling traffic congestion in Metro Manila that affects the quality of life of residents and contributes to a loss of about P2.4 billion per day in the Philippine economy.”
Yap added that his committee recommends that concrete lane delineators be quickly installed at all bus stops along the entire stretch of Edsa to ensure efficient traffic flow without need for much human intervention.
This will enable HPG troopers to supervise other critical hot spots, such as the problematic Edsa-Taft Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue-Taft intersections.
“The coverage of the presidential directive must be expanded to include C-5, which is the second most important circumferential road that provides an alternate route to relieve traffic load from Edsa, and to other national roads, such as Katipunan and Commonwealth avenues. Choke points on these roads degrade their efficiency,” Yap said.
Equally important are Edsa’s radial roads, which allow circulation and distribution of traffic, he added, enumerating them as Gil Puyat, Shaw Boulevard, Ortigas Avenue and E. Rodriguez, among others.
“Solving this humongous traffic problem necessitates collective action. There should be symmetry of actions. The government must know what its left hand is doing. Without a comprehensive traffic- management plan, traffic woes would still haunt us even after two or three years from now and we cannot be made to suffer for that long. Let’s unite, and solve this traffic-congestion problem as soon as possible,” Yap said.
Aside from addressing Metro Manila’s traffic-management problems, the government must also consider improving the traffic in other metropolitan cities throughout the Philippines.
Metro Manila’s neighboring provinces and cities are said to be losing P1 billion daily in productivity costs owing to congestion.
“We are seeing traffic congestion just about everywhere—even in Cebu, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Baguio, Davao and Zamboanga. Traffic is not just a problem of residents in Metro Manila, but is beginning to affect even those cities in the provinces. Let’s nip this in the bud as early as now,” Yap emphasized.
The traffic situation in the Philippines was tagged as the fifth worst in the world, the 2015 mid-year report of crowdsourcing firm Numbeo showed.
Manila’s traffic index was at 201.31 points. It was measured based on the average time spent by a commuter to reach a destination, dissatisfaction and inefficiencies in the traffic system, and carbon-dioxide emission.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis N. Tolentino earlier predicted that traffic in the metropolis will continue to be messy in the next 15 years.