Tuesday, August 21, 2007 MMDA-like body in Baguio not feasible: vice mayor By Rimaliza Opiña
HAVING a metropolitan development body in Baguio might not be feasible in the city, an official said.
Reacting over plans of creating a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)-like body that would dwell mainly on traffic management, Baguio Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas said it is premature yet to create the body, Baguio being the only city in Cordillera.
The creation of a Baguio City Transportation Management and Development Authority (BCTMDA) that was proposed by Councilor Rocky Thomas Balisong is still pending at the City Council after the Local Finance Committee and the City Human Resource Management Office recommended that a feasibility study has to be done first, focusing on the costs and benefits of creating a new department.
If the BCTMDA were approved, the Traffic and Transportation Management Committee would be abolished.
But the recommendation to conduct a feasibility study was anchored on a provision of the Local Government Code that in the preparation of budget for personnel services, this should not exceed 45 percent of the total annual budget of a local government unit.
Part of the proposal is the appropriation of P17 million. The salary positions, internal qualification standards and personnel efficiency are matters that also have to be considered, then said HRMO head Jose Dacawi in his appearance before the council.
Included in the creation of a BCTMDA is the establishment of a policy making body -- Public Utilities Transportation and Regulatory Board (PUTRB) that is in charge of supervision, franchising and regulation of public transportation in Baguio.
As per the proposal, the BCTMDA would be given the power to manage, supervise, execute and enforce national and local traffic rules.
The BCTMDA would also conduct a study and recommend traffic routes, manage and supervise traffic flow, designate or regulate loading and unloading terminals, pay parking areas, pavement markings, tow stalled and illegally parked vehicles, install traffic signs, street fixtures and billboards and formulate solutions to traffic problems.
It is also tasked to manage and educate the public, operators and drivers about traffic and transportation rules and with the concurrence of the council, could issue from time to time supplement guidelines on transportation rules.
To curtail the practice of converting private vehicles to public utility vehicles, part of the BCTMDA's function is to adopt measures to identify those into this practice. It is also mandated to maintain drivers' records such as personal data, records of apprehension and inventory of statistical data of public utility vehicles (PUVs) plying the city's streets.
The election of PUV association's officers, resolution of PUV conflicts and application of new franchises relative to loading areas shall also be under the supervision of the BCTMDA.
