Manila’s “mommy” traffic enforcers—mothers who work as part-time traffic aides—will soon be authorized to apprehend and issue traffic citation tickets to erring motorists, according to Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada.
Estrada said the first batch of women traffic enforcers are now undergoing rigid training and seminar on advance traffic management to upgrade their working knowledge about the different types of traffic violations and the traffic rules and regulations of the city.
“We’re now upgrading their skills and technical know-how because probably within the year, we will be issuing them OVRs (Ordinance Violation Receipts) to apprehend traffic violators,” the mayor said.
Estrada said the mommy traffic enforcers have exceeded his expectations. “They’ve shown dedication to their job and have proven to be of big help to our traffic management units,” he said.
Members of this women’s corps of traffic enforcers, now numbering 240, are deployed outside the elementary school campuses across the city with only one primary mission: To help the schoolchildren cross the street and get to school or their home safely.
“So far, we’ve been getting positive feedbacks concerning our mommy traffic enforcers. Indeed, we can trust them with the safety of our children, being mothers themselves,” Estrada said.
The advance traffic management training is being carried out by the Manila Police District-Traffic Enforcement Unit and the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau, the mother unit of the mommy enforcers.
“We’re orienting them on our Traffic Code, different kinds of moving and non-moving traffic violations, how to properly approach an offending motorist, everything they need to learn, before we issue them OVRs,” MTPB chief Dennis Alcoreza said.
“With enough experience and knowledge, this year they will be issued traffic tickets, and let’s see how those abusive and arrogant motorists would react when caught by our mommy enforcers,” he added.
With the opening of classes, Alcoreza believes the mommy traffic enforcers will play a “strategic role” in ensuring the safety of thousands of returning schoolchildren and maintaining order around the elementary schools.
With the supervision of an MTPB sector commander, the women enforcers work in shifts of their own choosing – from 6 am to 9 am, 11 am to 2 pm, or from 12 noon to 6 pm – from Monday to Friday. Each receives a monthly salary of P6,000.
According to the Safe Kids Worldwide, road accidents are the number one 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 crash, 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 5-12, according to WHO.