IN President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, July 21, the stress was on the need to stop corruption in the government, along with a call to restore the death penalty for heinous cases related to drugs, to cut red tape in government transactions with local officials told to issue all permits within three days, and to raise the salaries of teachers and nurses.
He also ordered: “I reiterate my directive, my request, my pleadings, to the MMDA and all concerned local officials in Metro Manila and other cities to undertake immediate action to ensure the speedy and smooth flow of vehicular traffic. Reclaim all public roads that are being used for private end. Marami diyan..”
It appeared to be aimed at helping end the old problem of traffic gridlock in Metro Manila, but the Department of Interior and Local Governments stressed that the presidential directive was meant for all local governments around the country, not just in Metro Manila. The mayors were given 45 days – later extended to 60 day – to clear all street obstructions.
The order may have been partly inspired by the swift action taken by new Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, who had begun cleaning up Divisoria and Quiapo at the very start of his administration. It was inspiring to see the city streets clean and open to traffic once more, where they had long been impassable because they had been occupied by street vendors.
We see the beginning of a determined effort to solve the traffic problem that has plagued Metro Manila for years. While the principal cause of the problem is the tremendous increase in the number of vehicles by hundreds of thousands a year, without any additional kilometer of city road, this year may see a major improvement in the situation.
New elevated highways are being rushed to completion. There are efforts to reduce the number of vehicles in city streets, including the retirement of old jeepneys and their replacement with newer vehicles with greater passenger capacities. There seems to be more efficient traffic enforcement. Many drivers have learned to adjust to Metro traffic with its light and heavy traffic at known times of the day. The mass rail traffic systems are running much more efficiently with fewer breakdowns.
The presidential order to clear up all streets that have long been blocked by illegally parked private cars round the clock will be a major factor in the total effort to solve the city’s old traffic problem. There will now be more side streets that can absorb the traffic now massed in main streets.
Local government and police officials may have been inclined to tolerate the illegally parked cars on the streets and the vendors’ stands and even barangay police headquarters on sidewalks. But the President has lately been decisive in penalizing violations of law and other regulations. This should ensure that the street clearance order will be determinedly followed.
