Iloilo City mulls merging TTMO, POSMO to regularize enforcers

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The city government of Iloilo is exploring the merger of the Traffic and Transportation Management Office and the Public Order and Safety Management Office once again.

Uldarico Garbanzos, who heads both offices, said he has already discussed the proposal with Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu, and the plan involves consolidating the two departments to eventually regularize qualified traffic personnel.

“Once our proposed ordinance is approved, or when the TTMO and POSMO is merged, then we can start the regularization,” he said, adding that recruitment can begin once the positions are included in the city’s budget.

He noted that regularizing the enforcers would allow them to apply for deputation from the Land Transportation Office, granting them authority to implement national traffic laws and not just local ordinances.

“We will add them to our forces. We will give them ranks. Our personnel will have classification so that small leadership of the teams can already be a leader,” he said.

Garbanzos said regularization will also strengthen the monitoring and inspection of personnel performance.

However, he clarified that the initial number of regularized positions will be limited.

He explained that those with a record of good performance and consistent recognition will likely be prioritized for regularization.

“We will present a qualification standard later on. If it is approved, we will present a qualification standard on our human resource management, which will be part of the hiring or recruitment process on how to get regular personnel,” he said.

The Traffic and Transportation Management Office was established in July 2024 to exclusively handle all traffic and transportation laws, regulations, and ordinances.

The Public Order and Safety Management Office, formerly the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office, was renamed and now focuses solely on public order and safety.

Both offices were once part of a single department—the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office—created in 2017 to oversee transportation management, traffic regulation, and public safety, and the restructuring in 2024 separated these functions into two distinct offices.

On Thursday, Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu recognized 18 traffic enforcers for their dedication and integrity in upholding road safety and traffic regulations.

Two of the awards were given posthumously to enforcers who died from complications possibly triggered by extreme heat last April.

The Traffic and Transportation Management Office currently has 433 personnel, while the Public Order and Safety Management Office has around 370, and Garbanzos also disclosed that some Traffic and Transportation Management Office staff were recently dismissed due to absenteeism and neglect of duty.