Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Sunday pledged to field what he described as “a new breed” of professional traffic enforcers in the coming weeks.
Estrada said motorists who have grown tired of the corrupt activities of former members of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau could expect a “more disciplined, competent, and incorruptible” team of traffic personnel manning the city streets.
The mayor had ordered the mass resignation of 690 MTPB enforcers on November 28 after being swamped with complaints from motorists concerning their alleged extortion activities.
Estrada has warned that he will impose a “one-strike” policy on any MTPB personnel who will be involved in any illegal activity. To discourage them from extorting money from motorists, he raised the basic pay of Job Order traffic enforcers from P6,000 to P10,000 a month.
“I have ordered a thorough and extensive screening and retraining of recruits. We will select only the best and we’re assuring everyone that we will go harder on those who will be committing illegal activities,” he added.
Estrada has been keeping close tabs on the retraining of the first batch of 92 trainees who will fill up the vacated slots at the MTPB, but only eight of them were new recruits.
The retraining is being handled by the Manila Police District (MPD), which began last Monday and will be completed on December 23, said Supt. Lucile Faycho, chief of the MPD-Traffic Enforcement Unit.
Faycho said the training and refresher course is focused on developing discipline, proper decorum and posture, and physical fitness. They also have classroom lectures about basic road accident investigation, rescue and first aid, and basic self defense techniques.
“We’re also teaching them how to communicate with motorists and traffic violators with utmost courtesy. They should be professional and dignified at all times because they represent the city of Manila,” Faycho pointed out.
During the first days of training, the MPD-TEU saw that most of the “old-timers” were physically unfit and unable to do the simplest exercises, while some lacked traffic management skills.
“The others, after running a little bit, they get dizzy,” she recounted.
In accepting new recruits, Faycho said applicants should have studied some college, based on the new qualification standards set by MTPB and the Office of the Mayor.
“Once they’ve completed the training, the old-timers will no longer be assigned to their previous assignments to avoid getting themselves involved again in extortion and other illegal activities,” Faycho added.