Ordinance making CITOM a department ok'd

CEBU, Philippines - A better and more orderly city in terms of transportation and traffic is now expected with the creation of a new traffic agency to be called the Cebu City Transportation Office.

During last Wednesday’s session, the city council approved the ordinance creating for the CCTO that will serve as the local counterpart of the Land Transportation Office.

The CCTO was created to departmentalize the current City Traffic Operations and Management which is only a section under the Mayor’s office.

Having it departmentalized means that the traffic office could now afford to have more personnel for their operations and its functions and its power has been broadened.

“Cebu City, classified as a highly urbanized city with an increase of population and economic status, is experiencing an increasing magnitude of transportation and traffic problem. Due to the rapid urbanization of the city, there is now a need for a comprehensive transportation planning process to be undertaken to provide proactive solutions to transportation-related and traffic-related problem,” the ordinance read.

The new CCTO will have five divisions —the transportation planning division, the transportation engineering division, the public mass transportation division, the traffic enforcement and parking operations division and the support services division.

The transportation planning division shall be responsible for planning, designing, monitoring and evaluation, traffic education and management of information systems.

Implementation of all traffic and transportation-related projects, programs, measure, schemes and policies of the city will be the responsibilities of the transportation engineering division.

The public mass transportation division is tasked to implement mass transportation projects and all matters related to mass transportation.

For traffic enforcement, mobile operations, parking operations, special task actions, communication, billing and collection, the traffic enforcement and parking operations division shall be in charge.

The support services division shall be responsible for the performance of basic administrative functions such as preparing the budget, payroll, correspondence, procurement and handling of office supplies. It shall also act as custodian of major traffic signal spare parts, traffic signs, thermoplastic and painting materials.

The CITOM board, presently headed by councilor Sylvan Jakosalem will not be abolished but will continue to oversee the functions and performance of the new department.

The office shall be created within three months after the approval of the ordinance. The city council assured that it will be headed by a traffic expert. CITOM executive officer Arnel Tancinco in an earlier interview said that they currently have personnel seen qualified to serve as division chiefs of the new department. He also disclosed his plan to apply as the CCTO’s department head.

The CCTO will be appropriated P114.3 million annually for the salaries and benefits of personnel that will comprise the office. — THE FREEMAN