ORDINANCES and other policies of local government units hamper the implementation of programs of Metro Manila Development Authority to solve the worsening traffic situation in the metropolis.
This was the sentiment raised by MMDA officials who have been having a hard time finding answers to the traffic congestion, which has resulted in an estimated productivity loss of P2.4 billion a day or more than P800 billion a year.
“This is what I’m saying… there is a seeming conflict between the local government code and the mandate of the MMDA. Of course, we defer to the local governments because they are also members of the Metro Manila Council. So, we referred that to the Department of Interior and Local Government,” said lawyer Crisanto Saruca Jr., head of the MMDA Traffic Discipline Office.
Saruca cited an instance when barangay officials allow vehicles to park (for a fee) in a no-parking zone or area. “Just like they have their own jurisdiction under the local government code. But what about our function or policy of no parking on all roads?”
“There should be one rule, a law that would harmonize these policies about traffic, the function of the local government, LTO [Land Transportation Office], LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board] and the MMDA in so far as public utility vehicles are concerned,” Saruca explained.
Last year, the agency appealed to local government units to review and amend traffic and street regulations to prevent incident similar to the confrontation of MMDA enforcers and San Juan local government personnel over illegally-parked vehicles.
Members of the MMDA Traffic Management Unit led by Nestor Mendoza were conducting operations along Annapolis Street to clear the road of illegally parked vehicles and motorcycles when they were stopped by the San Juan City government personnel, saying the parked vehicles were using the street, which is part of the Mabuhay Lane routes, for pay parking.
The San Juan local government, under its city ordinance, allowed car owners to park in the area and charges them P30 for the first three hours and an additional P10 for every succeeding hour.
The MMDA officials said this incident can be prevented if there is a unified traffic laws.
“We only resolve the issue by getting our heads together only during special events [like the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Papal Visit] but for the day-to-day, we have different situations,” said Saruca.
Former senator Joey Lina seconded Saruca, saying the MMDA seems “useless and has no police power to enforce its mandate.”
“Like for instance the MMDA want to build a bridge but the mayor in the city is against it, so what will happen now? Where is the police power of the MMDA there?” said Lina who also served as Metro Manila governor in 1986.
The law vested the MMDA with powers so it can carry out its mandate, including police power, according to Lina.
He said the MMDA was established three years after the 1987 Constitution was ratified and the President was granted the authority to constitute the Metropolitan Authority.
Then President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order No. 392 dated Jan. 9, 1990 constituting the Metropolitan Manila Authority which later evolved to become the MMDA following the enactment of Republic Act 7924, also known as the MMDA Charter.
Lina said the agency was vested with “planning, monitoring, and coordinative functions and, in the process, exercise regulatory and supervisory authority over the delivery of metro-wide services within Metro Manila without diminution of the autonomy of local government units [LGUs] concerning purely local matters.”
He explained RA 7924 included development planning, transport and traffic management, solid waste disposal and management; flood control and sewerage management, urban renewal, zoning, land use planning and shelter services, health and sanitation, urban protection and pollution control; and public safety as among the metro-wide services it can offer.
MMDA officer-in-charge Emerson Carlos said the emergency powers to be granted to President Rodrigo Duterte can be used by the Chief Executive to unify traffic laws, rules and regulations being implemented by the national government and the local government units.
Among the additional powers that lawmakers wanted Duterte to be granted was to allow the President to enter into negotiated contracts for the construction, repair, rehabilitation, improvement or maintenance of critical infrastructure, projects and facilities subject to certain conditions.