Traffic, flooding woes top Samsam’s agenda

CEBU, Philippines — Talisay City Mayor-elect Gerald Anthony "Samsam" Gullas, Jr. targets to put an end to the city’s perennial problems like traffic congestion and flooding.

Gullas, who will replace his grandfather Eduardo "Eddiegul" Gullas as mayor, said he intends to focus more on traffic management and improvement of drainage system in his term.

"I already met with the department heads. From my eight-point agenda, I want to focus on two things for the meantime to hit the ground running – traffic and flooding," he said on the sidelines before the mass oath-taking of the winning candidates of Cebu's First District at Carcar City Hall yesterday morning.

To address flooding, he said, he wants to review the city’s existing master drainage plan.

"We don’t want to make band-aid solutions to fix the flooding problem in Talisay. There is a master plan. We will look into it and (assess) how it can be adopted to the new situation in Talisay and act accordingly especially with the (available) budget in the city's coffers," he said.

On the other hand, road policies remain but what Gullas seeks to change are the men behind the city’s traffic management unit.

He said he has hired a traffic czar, whom he refused to name yet. 

"I have someone in mind. We already talked but I don’t want to preempt anything," he said.

Also, Gullas said he seeks to scrap the hiring of job order employees, who would work as traffic enforcers. He wants to hire casual employees, who would be co-terminus with the mayor.

If they will be under contractual service, he said, they should be picked based on criteria or guidelines, which are yet to be formulated,

This, he said, would give traffic enforcers a better position and compensation.

"I want them to be with high morale. They are the frontliners of Talisay when it comes to road problems so we want to make sure that they are capable and knowledgeable of handling traffic situations in Talisay," he said.

Hired personnel will also be required to undergo seminars and trainings on traffic management, he said.

Moreover, Gullas is eyeing at tapping barangay officials to help man the vehicular flow, especially during peak hours.

He said he will convene the barangay captains to tackle his plan.

"There are a lot of plans that we want to do especially in specific barangays, in specific corners in Talisay because we cannot have a one-size fits-all plan in all intersections. We need to work hand in hand with the barangays, especially in maintaining the traffic signages and road discipline," he said.

Other measures that Gullas wants to discuss soon with the city's traffic unit are the traffic plan, the truck ban, the traffic lighting system, and the regulation of trisikad and motorcycle-for-hire drivers. — KBQ (FREEMAN)