DAVAO City Councilor Pilar Braga wants local government traffic enforcers deputized to confiscate driver’s licenses.

The recommendation is a proposed amendment to city ordinance No.O334-12, series of 2012, also known as the “Comprehensive Transport and Traffic Code of Davao City.”

“Motorists are more emboldened to commit more violations completely free from worries since the local traffic enforcers are not empowered to confiscate their driver’s license,” Braga said in her privilege speech during the city council session on Tuesday, July 10, 2018.

She said empowering the forces of the city’s traffic management control is a major concern for the local government unit.

Through the new amendment of the ordinance, Braga hopes that this will regulate Private Motor Vehicles (PMV) in contributing to the huge chunk of the city’s traffic.

“The relentless motorization of the city is exacerbated by new residential subdivisions located in the city fringes where urban public transport is inadequate; hence the preference to buy PMVs,” Braga said in her speech.

In a study presented by city urban regional officer Dr. Danio Pampanga, PUJs has only 5.06 percent share of the city’s total urban transport split, while PMVs has almost 40 percent. This does not include private cars coming from other neighboring cities and provinces.

Braga also said with the development of new roads, bridges, by-pass roads, overpasses, these will also contribute in the increase of vehicles coming in and out in the city. Meanwhile, Braga underscored the importance in pushing through traffic education programs.