Cops blame 'absent' traffic aides for Manila's traffic jams

A senior Manila police official said yesterday the Manila city government’s traffic aides are responsible for the traffic jams that are steadily getting worse as Christmas draws near.

Personnel of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB) who were specifically hired to assist traffic policemen are reportedly nowhere to be found during rush hours, according to motorists who complained to Manila District Traffic Enforcement Unit chief Superintendent Roberto de la Rosa.

Policemen on patrol, who are supposed to safeguard the public against criminals, are the ones manning the intersections, he said.

De la Rosa said he has only 200 men – 100 for each shift, including administration personnel – to man more than 100 chokepoints in the city.

He said there are more than 300 MTPB aides under retired police colonel Franklin Gacutan, who deploys and supervises them. There are reports that the MTPB aides are allegedly more occupied with extorting money from motorists than maintaining traffic.

“I have also heard those allegations. But what can I do? They are not my men,” said De la Rosa, who is batting for the return of the traffic enforcers of the Metro Manila Development Authority “since they are more trained in handling traffic.” The MMDA removed its traffic personnel in Manila following a city council resolution.

Motorists and commuters have to bear with traffic bottlenecks in almost all thoroughfares in the metropolis, especially near shopping malls.

The stretch of C.M. Recto from Sta. Cruz up to Divisoria, including its side streets, is a perennial bottleneck as vendors obstruct the free flow of traffic.

Gacutan blamed the worsening traffic conditions in the city on street diggings, which he said will be over next month.