The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), under the leadership of Chairman Danilo Lim, will implement a one-strike policy against traffic enforcers who would engage in illegal acts like extortion and collection of protection money.
“We will not just deal with extortion activities involving unscrupulous traffic enforcers but even corruption inside the MMDA main building,” said Lim, a former military general.
Lim admitted that the task is difficult to do as they cannot monitor traffic enforcers’ unscrupulous activities.
Thus, he is asking for the support and cooperation of the public and even the agency employees.
“The Chairman’s Office welcomes anyone who will come forward and file a complaint against erring MMDA personnel,” said Lim.
For Lim, perennial traffic congestion on Metro Manila roads, illegal parking, proliferation of colorum and out of line public utility buses, and illegal vendors are just symptoms of the existing problem.
Lim has ordered a thorough inventory not only of the equipment and physical assets of the MMDA but also of its personnel.
“I would like to know what I am working with and I would decide if these individuals should stay here (at MMDA) or not,” Lim said.
Lim was reacting to the Commission on Audit (CoA) report in 2015 that showed that only a handful of MMDA traffic enforcers are qualified to man and implement traffic rules and regulations on the streets of Metro Manila.
The CoA report further said that more than 2,000 traffic enforcers currently deployed on Metro Manila roads have not undergone and passed the required training and examination to perform traffic duties. (ANNA LIZA VILLAS-ALAVAREN)
