Three days after Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada ordered the firing of 690 personnel under the city’s traffic unit owing to corruption complaints, Manila’s so-called “mommy traffic enforcers” have taken over traffic management at the 72 public elementary schools in the city.
Estrada activated the special unit, composed of 251 mothers, who have completed extensive training in traffic management, first aid and other emergency procedures, and childcare.
“I trust that they will take care of our young children, being mothers themselves. We can now feel safe that there are mommies out there taking care of our children,” the mayor said.
Estrada formed the women’s corps of traffic enforcers specifically to be deployed outside the elementary school campuses with one primary mission: to help the schoolchildren cross the street and get to school or their homes safely.
He said deploying these traffic enforcers would be a big help while the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau is being reorganized.
MTPB chief Dennis Alcoreza said they are hoping to field one mommy traffic enforcer for every 1,000 schoolchildren. Manila has about 250,000 grade schoolers.
“Depending on how big the school is, we will be deploying a minimum of two mommy traffic enforcers per school. They should be residents of the same barangay where the school is located, and preferably have children in the school they will be assigned to,” Alcoreza said.
The mother-enforcers were issued uniforms, including reflectorized vests for their safety, and will be given a monthly allowance of P6,000 to supplement their income, he added.
They also underwent a four-hour crash course in traffic management and children’s road safety conducted by traffic experts and childcare professionals at the Universidad de Manila.
According to Safe Kids Worldwide, a global body dedicated to preventing injuries to children, road accidents are the top cause of unintentional death among children ages 1 to 19.
Alcoreza also cited a report from the World Health Organization that said 186,000 children below 18 years old die each year due to road crashes, 38 percent of whom were pedestrians.
In the Philippines, 96 children die every day due to road accidents, making it the second most common type of accident in the country for children aged five to 12, according to WHO.