‘No more gridlock on NLEX’

MANILA, Philippines - There is no more traffic buildup on the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Malacañang said yesterday.

“The Cabinet cluster has done what is needed… The congestion problem that was experienced last Friday at the NLEX going into the Metro Manila area and into the Port of Manila has been addressed,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing.

He said President Aquino is on top of the situation and is getting regular updates from Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino and Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras.

“The relief from the port congestion, which spills over to a traffic congestion concern, is very important to the President,” he said.

The President on Monday appealed to the public to bear with the traffic congestion, saying their sacrifice could help prevent port congestion from damaging the economy.

He also gave assurance that the effects of decongesting Manila’s ports are being addressed to avoid inconvenience to the public.

“Everything and anything that has been thought of that can address this congestion problem is being done,” Aquino said.

However, Coloma said he has no information on whether the President had reviewed the video footage of the traffic gridlock on NLEX. Aquino had said he wanted to find out for himself why the NLEX became a virtual parking lot with the implementation of the one truck lane policy on Friday.

House probe on traffic jams

Meanwhile, the House committee on Metro Manila development will conduct an inquiry into the traffic jams and possible liability of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The inquiry was prompted by the privilege speech of Parañaque City Rep. Gustavo Tambunting, who said the 17 mayors of Metro Manila and MMDA’s Tolentino are in agreement that the LTFRB’s questionable and “economically damaging” policies were among the major causes of traffic jams in the capital.

He said the worsening traffic did not start with the agency’s controversial issuances, but “it is clear that we must look into why the LTFRB was so willing to compound this problem.”

The lawmaker was referring to LTFRB chairman Winston Ginez’s policy of granting franchises to private bus companies with large number of units and the “no apprehension policy” for “colorum” trucks.

Tambunting said the probe would complement the Senate inquiry sought by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who said Ginez’s policy has violated land transportation laws.

He cited an MMDA study that showed that the LTFRB policy on colorum trucks led to a 30 percent to 80 percent increase of trucks along roads in Quezon City alone.

Mabalacat East Road

As this developed, the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) has set aside P90 million for the construction of the Mabalacat City east road as alternative to motorists stuck in traffic along the MacArthur highway in Barangay Dau in Angeles City.

Juan Miguel Fuentes, head of the CDC Environmental Department, said only P40 million was initially allotted for the project, but a study revealed it would cost P50 million more.

The proposed new road will be parallel to MacArthur highway and would run from Clark’s Mabalacat gate up to SM mall at the main entry of the Clark Freeport Zone in Barangay Balibago in Angeles City.

“A supplemental budget of P40 million has been added to the P50-million budget,” said Fuentes.

Mabalacat City Mayor Marino Morales said the improvement of the Mabalacat east road will provide “seamless ingress and egress” within the city.

He said the road project would be finished before the end of 2016.

‘Girl power’

In a related development, the 60-member “Task Force EDSA Lady Auxiliary Platoon” recently deployed by the MMDA to direct traffic on EDSA has started to gain the respect of motorists.

Crisanto Saruca, head of the MMDA’s Traffic Discipline Office, said members of the auxiliary platoon do not issue traffic violation receipts, but they can refer violations like on number coding.

He said the formation of an all-female auxiliary platoon was aimed at separating the functions of traffic flow management and traffic rules enforcement, which were both previously handled by a single traffic enforcer.  – With Paolo Romero, Mike Frialde, Ding Cervantes