CCTO denies ‘quota’ system

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) head Raquel Arce has denied claims made by a former traffic enforcer that he was allegedly dismissed from service for failing to meet a supposed “quota.”

Arce clarified that the CCTO has no quota policy, but follows an “individual performance target” system.

Mayor Nestor Archival likewise denied issuing any directive requiring traffic personnel to meet quotas to keep their jobs. He said he would not comment on complaints that have not been formally filed and only surfaced on social media, but encouraged concerned employees to file their grievances properly.

According to Archival, there is no such directive under his administration, and he sees no need to investigate further.

“Kay og unsay sakto mao ra gyud nay buhaton. Kaysa manakop kag di angay dakpon aron managhan, that’s not fair,” Archival said.

He added that the CCTO could not impose such a policy without his approval, noting that the agency’s guidelines are set by the Traffic Management Council (TMC), which has no provision for quotas.

“Mogawas man nga kung naa koy ten (apprehensions) nya nagtrabaho ko’g tarong, unya ang akong area walay dakponon, mapugos ka’g pangdakop sa mga tawo nga dili angay… so wala jud ko mosulti nila nga panakop mo dira aron modaghan ta’g kwarta,” he said.

In a separate interview, Arce said the term “quota” may have originated from traffic enforcers themselves and was never officially adopted by the department. She explained that the CCTO follows a performance target system applied across all city departments.

For traffic personnel, she said, performance targets include the number of apprehensions—but this is not the sole basis for contract renewal. Enforcers are also rated on how effectively they manage and control traffic in their assigned areas.

Each enforcer’s performance, including apprehensions, is rated, and they are expected to issue at least two citation tickets a day.

“So sa pagkakaron, makaingon jud ko, labi na gyud nga atong mga drivers, pwera sa maayo ha, ang atong mga drivers, mga badlongon kaayo, kanang duha ka citation tickets gamay ra gyud na sa usa ka traffic enforcer kung magtrabaho,” Arce said.

“Now moingon siya (traffic enforcer in question) nga wala kaayo syay dakop kay nag-man sya sa traffic, does it mean nga eight hour siyang naa sa tunga sa dalan?” she added.

Arce said most traffic enforcers are deployed mainly during peak hours. The personnel in question, she added, issued only 12 citation tickets over two and a half months, compared to others who had at least 100 within the same period.

She clarified that the individual was among 70 traffic enforcers whose contracts were not renewed. However, Arce sought the mayor’s approval to reconsider 35 of them based on their performance.

The controversy surfaced after a certain Jemmer Cabingatan Cabajar Bacon posted a video on social media showing himself burning his CCTO uniform—worth around P4,000—while claiming that he and others were not renewed for failing to meet a quota.

“Kami gatarong mi’g trabaho pero wa mi i-renew kay wala mi ka quota, mao nay rason sa opisina,” he said in the video, where he also voiced the sentiments of other non-renewed enforcers.

In response, Arce maintained that setting reasonable targets is part of an enforcer’s mandate to implement traffic laws—not a quota system. She emphasized that the personnel in question was not renewed due to poor work performance, not the number of apprehensions.

“Ang-ang man og ako syang pangayoan og pila ka tonelada nga basura nga iyang nakuha sa mga sapa nga ang iyang mandate is traffic enforcer man sya to enforce the law,” Arce said. — /FPL (FREEMAN)