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Friday, March 29, 2024

The Orbos racket at MMDA

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Since Thomas “Tim” Orbos took over the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the traffic problem in the metropolis has not improved, despite his press releases to the contrary.  

Orbos promised to clear sidewalks of obstructions.  What happened?  Sidewalks of major roadways remain blocked and inaccessible to pedestrians who are, in turn, compelled to compete with vehicles for the already limited road space.  That adds to the traffic problem.

In Mandaluyong City, at the westbound Edsa access lane of Pioneer Street above the Boni Avenue tunnel, tricyles have converted the entire sidewalk into a parking lot.  Consequently, traffic flow in this area is virtually stagnant.

Sidewalks along Capitol Drive and United Street in Barangay Kapitolyo in Pasig City are now parking lots.  

In Quezon City, most of the sidewalks around the compounds of two major broadcast networks have been converted into private parking lots.    

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Evidently, Orbos’ promise to clear the sidewalks was an empty promise from an aspiring politician.

Other problems plaguing Edsa have worsened under Orbos and his stooges at the MMDA.  

Vehicles compelled to line up on the innermost lane of the northbound half of Edsa across Camp Aguinaldo have forced other vehicles (those headed further north) to compete with buses for the remaining lanes in that area.  Plastic roadblocks recently installed at the intersection of Edsa and the road to White Plains Village further impede the smooth flow of northbound traffic.

Orbos still allows motorcycles and slow-moving vehicles to use Edsa in any way they please.  As a result, they block the smooth flow of traffic, and create potential road accidents.    

A mysterious building in the middle island of Edsa right across the Asian Development Bank compound eats into the limited road space of the northbound lane of Edsa and, therefore, adds to the traffic mess. Orbos has not explained why that building is there is the first place.  

Every working-day afternoon, the westwardly stretch of Ortigas Avenue from Edsa to the Greenhills shopping complex, becomes a parking lot for vehicles fetching students of La Salle Green Hills whose school day is over.  Thus, half of this major avenue is reduced to a one-lane affair.

Pedicabs are still roadway obstacles in the Quezon Avenue service road beside the old Napocor Building.  Despite a “no loading and unloading” sign conspicuously displayed at the site, taxicabs still use this place as a waiting station. Why?  There are no MMDA traffic enforcers in the area.  Why not?  Private motorists who commit an infraction of traffic rules have more grease money to offer corrupt traffic enforcers, compared to pedicab and taxicab drivers.

A month ago, Orbos came out with a new rule extending the once-a-week number-coding ban on vehicles, not just along Edsa, but in practically all the major roadways of the metropolis.  Instead of getting rid of the causes of traffic conjestion like slow-moving vehicles and indiscriminate, reckless motorcycle drivers, Orbos took the easiest option—a sweeping ban.

As expected, the vehicles of the MMDA and other government agencies are exempted from the ban.  

Orbos’ ban is anti-poor because rich persons can circumvent the ban by acquiring more than one vehicle (each with different license plate last digit numbers)—a luxury solution middle-class Filipino motorists cannot afford.  

Undoubtedly, the rapidly increasing volume of vehicles on the roadways is one cause of the metropolitan traffic nightmare.  The idiotic number-coding solution espoused by Orbos actually aggravates this problem because it encourages rich individuals and families to buy even more vehicles.

The Orbos decree exempts motorcycles from the weekly ban.  That is a very bad idea because motorcycle drivers are the worst violators of traffic rules.  Just look at most major intersections—motorcycle drivers create their own counterflows, overtake other motorists patiently waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and wait right smack on the pedestrian lane with no consideration for pedestrians.  They also ignore traffic lights at night.   

Motorcycle drivers using Edsa weave through traffic by changing lanes indiscriminately, and with absolutely no regard for other vehicles.  Many of the motorcycles belch smoke—in violation of the clean air law.  They also make unbearable noise. 

The Orbos ban allows exemptions for vehicles used by, among others, physicians who are on an emergency call.  What nonsense!  There are no more physicians who make emergency calls in this day and age.  Patients in need of emergency medical attention (and can afford it) must go to hospitals where they are attended to by physicians and nurses who are already at the emergency room.  Physicians, especially the senior ones who do not do emergency room work, show up at the hospital taking their sweet time.  Emergency medical calls?  Ha!  

Individuals who believe they have good reason to be exempted from the Orbos vehicle ban must apply for exemption at the MMDA office in Makati.  There is a large fee for each application.  Since acting on applications of this sort involves an exercise of administrative discretion, the entire application process can easily become a source of corruption.  

Many rich motorists will not hesitate to offer bribes just to avail of an undeserved exemption.  This is another confirmation that the Orbos ban favors only the wealthy, because the poor and those from the middle class usually cannot afford to offer bribes.  What a racket!  

In the end, Orbos’ ban is discriminatory, and even inutile.   

This Christmas, expect more traffic problems in the metropolis, not because there are more vehicles in the streets, but because MMDA officials and traffic enforcers will be occupied with the 2016 film festival—where part of the money derived from cinema house box office sales is spent by the MMDA.  That’s public money spent by a government agency without a prior appropriation from Congress.  It’s also a violation of the Constitution.  

There is no plausible reason for a vehicular traffic agency like the MMDA to manage a film festival.  No wonder there is always a traffic nightmare in the metropolis during the Yuletide season.

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