No improvement in traffic discipline

Despite all the effort by the government, traffic discipline in Metro Manila leaves much to be desired.

Based on the latest data from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), some 75,600 apprehensions for traffic violations are reported each month.

During the first 10 months of the year, a total of 756,534 apprehensions were made.

Almost all apprehended motorists were found guilty of their respective violations, with only 11,284 cases being brought to the MMDA’s Traffic Adjudication Board (TAB).

Out of the 11,284 cases heard by the TAB, only 10 percent of the citation tickets were cancelled. The rest were affirmed or modified to other violations.

Almost 40,000 motorists were required to attend a seminar on traffic as required by the MMDA, covering 12 specific traffic violations.

A number of traffic enforcers were also the subject of complaints from motorists with a total of 1,407 reports received during the period. A total of 699 notices of hearings were served, 101 of which were recommended for appropriate sanctions.

In the case of he sidewalk-clearing activities, which was started during the assumption of Bayani Fernando as MMDA chairman in the middle of the year, significant numbers were posted by the agency.

Along EDSA from Makati City to Caloocan City, the MMDA said 127 illegal structures were removed, representing 87 percent of the total.

Data revealed that 109 of the total voluntarily vacated the sidewalks while 18 were demolished by the MMDA sidewalk-clearing enforcers. Eleven percent of the illegal structures are still present based on the Nov. 27, 2002 data of the MMDA.

In Pasay City and Parañaque City, more than 50 percent of the illegal structures were removed voluntarily.

In Quezon City, the number of voluntary removal and demolition of existing illegal structures were almost even at 29 percent. Some 40 percent of the city’s illegal structures are still undergoing re-inspection. – Marvin Sy