City gov’t greenlights creation of traffic management team

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The city government of Iloilo is poised to establish a specified unit that will address the growing concern about road and traffic-related incidents and crimes in the city.

Executive Order (EO) No. 152 was approved on Wednesday and authorized the creation of the Iloilo City Traffic Management Unit (ICTMU).

“There is a need to create the (ICTMU), under the Office of the City Mayor, to augment and assist in the efficient and effective implementation and enforcement of all traffic-related laws, ordinances, and executive issuances in Iloilo City,” read the EO.

The EO noted the “rampant and widespread” road and traffic-related incidents and crimes in the streets of the city.

Data from the Traffic Enforcement Unit of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) indicated that the city recorded over 700 road accidents from January to April.

The ICTMU unit will now be the primary unit for transportation management and traffic regulation, which will now be separated from the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO).

The PSTMO, established in 2017, was previously responsible for three operations: transportation management, public safety, and anti-squatting and illegal structures.

Daily Guardian reached out to PSTMO head Jeck Conlu for comment on recent developments, but he has yet to respond.

The ICTMU will be chaired by City Administrator Melchor Tan, with Ret. Col. Uldarico Garbanzos, Executive Assistant for Community Welfare, serving as vice-chairperson.

Personnel in the ICTMU will be organized into clusters: operations, administration, administration for supply and finance, engineering and logistics, traffic management and enforcement, planning and training, media affairs, internal affairs, transport and traffic management adjudication board, and legal.

These personnel will be under the direct management and supervision of the office of the city mayor, according to the EO.

It was also noted that the ICTMU will work hand in hand with the ICPO in traffic management and enforcement operations to ensure the effective implementation of all traffic-related ordinances.

Under the EO, the ICPO is also directed to provide eight deputized personnel to augment the unit’s daily traffic and operational activities.

Earlier this August, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said that he may most likely take “drastic action” in the PSTMO.

The PSTMO is among the biggest departments of the city government with around 600 personnel.

“Maybe there is something wrong with the structure or the management. We have to do something right away,” he said.

Treñas’ statement comes after receiving reports of extortion, illegal parking in the bike lane, and the “continuing problem” of traffic.