City dad pushes anew two 8-hour work skeds at Citom

After the proposal was left hanging at the city council in one of its regular sessions, city councilor Arsenio Pacaña is determined to push for the implementation of a two eight-hour work schemes at the City Traffic Operations Management.

Pacaña, in his proposed resolution, said Citom should consider fielding traffic enforcers at night, when most accidents take place, and asks Citom to field more traffic personnel where traffic has been observed to be quite heavy, such as in "some city's crucial intersections from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m."

Said intersections were also identified with the assistance of councilor Sylvan Jakosalem who is a member of the Citom Board.

At least 11 have been identified as traffic-prone areas in the city. These are the intersections on F. Cabahug extension to Ayala Access Road or Cardinal Rosales Avenue; intersection on Hipodromo to M.J. Cuenco; intersection on M.J. Cuenco avenue to Ayala Access Road; intersection on Avila street to Osmeña boulevard; intersection on Villalon street to Escario street; intersection on Lopez Jaena street to M. J. Cuenco avenue, intersection on M.J. Cuenco to Bonifacio street; V. Sotto street to M.J. Cuenco; intersection on Zamora and Legaspi streets; intersection on Legaspi street and Burgos street; intersection at Raintree Mall going to Juana Osmeña; intersection on Gorordo Avenue to Beverly Hills, and intersection on C. Padilla street to South Road Properties.

"The absence of traffic enforcers particularly after office hours when traffic congestions are quite heavy has been a contributory factor that emboldens vehicle drivers to wantonly violate basic traffic rules and regulations," Pacaña said.

The councilor said that the strict enforcement of traffic rules and regulations have been severely restricted with the eight-hour work schedule of the Citom personnel, thus, sacrificing public safety, welfare and convenience of motorists and pedestrians alike.

Pacaña said that the two eight-hour work schemes would address the concern on Citom not having enough budget to appropriate overtime pay for traffic enforcers that would be detailed during nighttime and that the city has a very limited number of traffic enforcers.

The city only has around 280 traffic personnel, a number that is reportedly not ideal for the gravity of traffic the city is experiencing, Jakosalem said.

"It's about time that the city government will take traffic management more seriously. We need to invest on it," Jakosalem stressed. - Garry B. Lao