TRANSPORT Secretary Arthur Tugade has designated Highway Patrol Group Acting Director Antonio Gardiola as Metro Manila’s new traffic czar.
The inter-agency council on traffic management composed of the PNP Highway Patrol Group, the Metro Manila Development Authority, the Land Transportation Office, and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board welcomed Gardiola’s appointment.
“We have to get the vehicles moving to lessen travel time,” Gardiola told reporters.
“We have to observe how the motorists respond to the inter-agency traffic management.”
Gardiola said the council plans to train traffic enforcers and teach them to have more patience while doing their jobs.
The council has asked the UP National Center for Transportation Studies to assess what reforms are needed in the country’s traffic laws and infrastructure as more and more vehicles are hitting the road each year.
Gardiola said they would also be talking to local government units to resolve the conflicting implementation of local and national laws that hamper the flow of traffic.
“As long as the agencies cooperate, doing the job would be easier,” he said.