Editorial

Breakdown in governance

The heavy traffic encountered daily by commuters in Metro Manila suggests a total breakdown in governance by local officials and the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Undisciplined bus and jeepney drivers contribute greatly to the havoc in major and minor roads of the metropolis. Police and other traffic administrators watch idly, unmindful of the vehicle jams in their area of responsibility.

Manila appears to be the perfect example of traffic chaos that has become the daily routine of commuters and motorists. Tricycles and pedicabs roam most of the roads in the city, congesting the already narrow lanes that snake through the Philippine capital. Their presence, along with that of the backward karetelas, or horse-drawn carriages, openly mocks city ordinances that ban their trade.

Over at the Intramuros district, private cars and other types of vehicles are parked at the outer lanes of Andres Soriano Street on each side. City officials have converted part of the road as parking slots of customers frequenting restaurants and commercial offices along the busy street. The road to the Port Area, thus, has become a one-lane alley on each side, instead of a two-lane thoroughfare because of the parking facility tolerated by the city government.

The Quiapo district, meanwhile, has typified everything that is wrong in traffic management. Jeepneys occupy most of the lanes of the road leading to Quiapo church from Quezon City before making a U-turn, creating a gridlock. Jeepney drivers take their time to wait for passengers, while police and MMDA personnel manning the juncture make no efforts to ease the congestion.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim is familiar with the heavy traffic in his city. The road fronting the City Hall has become one traffic mess since his administration opened a road that intersects Taft Avenue to allow vehicles coming to and from the SM Manila shopping mall.

Manila and the other cities and towns that comprise the capital region require a major urban renewal program to ease traffic and prevent the area from degenerating. City officials and MMDA authorities should also implement traffic ordinances that aim to restore order in Metro Manila?s streets.

An orderly traffic system will serve as the first step in making Metro Manila a modern Asian metropolis.

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