Gamboa refutes claim on traffic mess

BACOLOD City Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. clarified the accusations that he is an “underperformer” as he is misunderstood by the public being responsible for the present traffic mess in the city.

Under the city’s traffic ordinance, it is the function of the mayor to manage and implement these traffic ordinances, Gamboa said.

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He said that as early as May 15, 2008, he requested additional 50 traffic enforcers through resolutions, both in the City Council and the Bacolod Traffic Authority Council (BTAC), because only 100 traffic enforcers were deployed and had actively performed their duties. This, he said, is contrary to Vice Mayor Thaddy Sayson’s claim of 140 to 150 enforcers working in various streets of the city as reported in a local daily.

Gamboa deplored that for the past two years, none of these City Council and BTAC resolutions that he filed were acted and executed by Mayor Evelio Leonardia as local chief executive.

Based on these resolutions, the chief executive is requested to order employees whose salaries were charged under BTAC to report to “mother station” for proper personnel accounting in line with thrust to improve traffic management of Bacolod.

The legislator added that along with his request for “human resources” in the traffic management were the logistic supports that included the railings, computers, towing trucks, paints, signages, LCD projectors for traffic education and the regular fixing of the traffic lights however, none of these were granted.

Instead, he made initiatives to push through his traffic management programs by tapping the support of private citizens like the Bantay Banwa group under the civic spirited leadership of Bomber Zayco and Dot Soliven, who provided signages; Luis Paint; Pastor Efren de la Cruz for boots, raincoats and accident insurances of traffic enforcers and Toots Jimenez for the reflectorized vest.

According to Gamboa, he even went to the extent of tapping the Barangay Tanods, operating under zero budget from the city, to augment present state of traffic enforcement.

It was discovered in January 2009 that of the 177 traffic enforcers officially listed, only 100 were actually reporting in the streets while the rest of the 77 were unaccounted, he explained.

Gamboa said he recently observed that the local executive had acted on the matter stipulated in the resolution passed way back in September 2009, such as the installation of new street railings, painting of streets and fixing of traffic lights. (JSG)