MMDA fires 71 erring traffic enforcers

MANILA, Philippines – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) legal department on Monday said the agency dismissed 71 erring traffic enforcers.

The 71 traffic enforcers were dismissed from service for having various administrative cases from August 2010 to August 2015.

MMDA Chief Francis Tolentino said MMDA regularly cleanses its ranks of abusive and undisciplined traffic personnel in its commitment to good governance and public service.

“This is part of our regular efforts to cleanse our ranks. We will never tolerate any wrongdoing from our employees,” Tolentino said.

Due to administrative charges from 2010 to 2015, six traffic enforcers were dismissed from MMDA, 25 were suspended and three were reprimanded.

Sixty-five more traffic enforcers were sacked from the service following preliminary investigations on administrative complaints and 13 were suspended during the same period.

The 71 erring employees were dismissed from service for various abuse complaints such as extortion, grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty.

Aside from termination, MMDA’s legal department records revealed that a total of 38 traffic enforcers were also suspended from August 2010 to August 2015. Three others were reprimanded for complaints filed against them.

Tolentino said the employees must set examples as traffic enforcers and continue to uphold discipline.

"As law enforcers, particularly those enforcing road rules and regulations, they should have the moral ascendancy to implement such standards," Tolentino said.

“Let this serve as a serious warning to all our erring personnel. We will continue to eliminate the rotten eggs from our agency,” he added.