Urban roads in our country will remain to be chaotic if concerned government agencies will remain ineffective in enforcing traffic laws, rules and regulations.
Why do concerned government agencies continue to fail in performing their mandate?
In fairness to these agencies and the leaders and personnel in them, it is not a case of them not trying to enforce traffic rules or find solutions to the traffic problem in key Philippine urban centers like Metro Manila.
Their initiatives include the designation of motorcycle lanes and yellow bus lanes in major roads like EDSA and Commonwealth Avenue in Metro Manila. They have time and again conducted campaigns against jaywalkers and colorum public vehicles. There were more innovative “solutions” like regular U-turn and elevated U-turn schemes, point-to-point special buses, among others.
One obvious problem about most of these initiatives is the absence of serious commitment to continuously and consistently pursue such initiatives.
A classic example is the recent pronouncement from the MMDA that it will once more “intensify” its campaign against jaywalkers. What does “intensify” mean? Does it mean doing “more” when it is obvious that no one among the traffic enforcers are really enforcing the regulation on jaywalking?
If a government agency or government personnel is seriously committed to the mandate of enforcing laws, there should be no such thing as “less enforcement” and “more enforcement.” Enforce is enforcement, period. Only two situations will emerge – whether there is or there is no enforcement.
The situation along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City is a clear illustration of the no-good-ningas-kugon reality about traffic rules enforcement. As the road is very wide, there should be no reason why the motorcycle lane scheme cannot be enforced. However, one can see that motorcycles are on all lanes and MMDA traffic enforcers are not a bit concerned that the motorcycle lane rule is being violated. The problem is the same with the enforcement of the 60 kilometer per hour speed limit at Commonwealth Avenue.
Is there anywhere in the Philippines, in both urban and rural areas, where prohibition of on-road parking is strictly and consistently enforced for secondary roads including provincial, municipal and barangay roads? In Metro Manila, the clearing of secondary roads of illegally parked vehicles is what we can call “seasonal” enforcement.
Road chaos in the Philippines is not a problem but a mere symptom. We all know what the real problem is. Let us all hope that the government will see the real problem and will be responsible in solving it. If it does not, we are in for an even bigger problem. (Dr. Ramon Ricardo A. Roque, CESOI, Diplomate)