LEAVE your homes early and avoid, if you can, the depressed portion of N. Bacalso Avenue, where an underpass is being constructed.
Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) operations chief Francisco Ouano said traffic congestion is expected with neither city traffic enforcers nor Land Transportation Office (LTO) personnel manning the area.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña ordered the withdrawal effective Monday, July 16, of CCTO personnel from Mambaling, a fallout from his dispute with LTO Central Visayas (LTO 7) regional director Victor Caindec.
Ouano said the 24 traffic enforcers deployed at a portion of C. Padilla St., Tagunol St., Cabreros St., Macopa St., F. Llamas St., Sabellano St., and the Punta Princesa area will be reassigned to the central and northern district.
"Vehicular traffic in the south has been heavy since the underpass project started last year and the presence of traffic enforcers would have helped alleviate the congestion in the area. We've observed that if there are no traffic enforcers, motorists do not follow traffic rules just to be the first to get out of the area," Ouano said.
In a statement issued Sunday, July 15, Caindec said he is keeping his hands off the area until Osmeña, as city mayor, can present a legal document stating that he is no longer able "to manage city streets and (is) giving the responsibility to LTO."
"Most importantly, that agreement is hinged on MY condition that he will resign if I deliver the metrics, to which he seems to not comprehend well. Tomas needs to start managing this city, not his Facebook account. Baha, Traffic, Basura. Kana iya dapat ayuhon," he said.
(Flood, traffic, garbage. Those are the problems he should address.)
Caindec wants Osmeña to define the scope of his responsibilities in traffic, the traffic management functions that is he giving up, and the metrics of traffic performance, including the baseline measure and its corresponding standards.
He also wants the mayor to specify the tipping point at which he will resign as well as the terms of his exit or resignation.
"Those are my conditions. That or nothing. I'm agnostic to what people will say because my job is to be effective, not popular. What Tomas is doing is abandoning outright his responsibilities to the people of Cebu because his ego was most likely hurt. As Mayor, he should be a better man than this. Not that I expect him to," Caindec said.
Osmeña, on the other hand, made an offer for Caindec.
In a Facebook post dated July 15, Osmeña wrote that since Caindec has said that only the LTO can enforce the traffic and that CCTO could be sued for enforcing the law, the City Government will just assist "with other equally important tasks."
"No matter how well or poorly LTO-7 does in Mambaling, the City Government would like to make them an offer: Cebu City will assign additional personnel and equipment to LTO-7 to assist them in processing the 13,000 backlogged registrations in their office. We ask for nothing in return. Our only interest is to let the Cebuanos use their vehicles without fear of being fined P12,000," he said.
Osmeña earlier declared that LTO 7 will now be the “sole traffic authority” in the area in response to Caindec's challenge for him to resign if LTO can ease congestion in the vicinity of the underpass project site.
Caindec, however, said in a Facebook post on July 14 that he will not deploy personnel to man traffic in Mambaling on Monday.
"No, LTO will not manage Mambaling. Dili mahimo mo DAWAT LIMPYO lang siya (Osmeña) sa solution namo," he posted on Facebook on July 14.
Read: LTO to handle traffic in Mambaling: mayor; I'm not buying it: Caindec
Caindec was the CCTO head from December 15, 2014 to February 2015 during the administration of former mayor Michael Rama, Osmeña's former ally turned bitter political rival.
Caindec took oath as the new LTO 7 regional director last January, replacing assistant director Anita Pulga who was designated as acting director last year.
Osmeña said that if Caindec can fix the problem in Mambaling, he will also authorize LTO to man traffic in other chokepoints, such as the Gov. Manuel Cuenco Avenue in Barangay Banilad and Salinas Drive in Barangay Lahug.
LTO mandate
The LTO is the agency tasked with the inspection and registration of motor vehicles, issuance of license and permits, enforcement of land transportation rules and regulations, adjudication of traffic cases, and the collection of revenues for the government.
Last week, Osmeña criticized the LTO for the delay in the release of vehicle registrations.
The mayor had said that he plans to file charges against the LTO officials who are responsible for the delay.
Caindec, however, believed that Osmeña was out of line and should just instead focus on the problems that the city is facing.
This sparked the ongoing rift between the two government officials.
Osmeña has also alleged that contrary to Caindec's statement, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino is already pulling strings to import additional personnel to assist LTO for when it takes over the traffic operations in Mambaling.
Personnel from LTO, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from outside Cebu are reportedly being mobilized.
"I am truly looking forward to seeing what LTO-7 can do when they are actually motivated! With this assistance, Citom (City Traffic Operations Management, an old name for CCTO) can finally focus it’s limited resources on other traffic areas of the city. Maybe one day LTO can fulfill their legal mandate and take over traffic in the entire City so Citom no longer needs to “illegally” exist. We are glad to be working hand in hand with a fellow government agency to address one of the biggest issues facing our city today," Osmeña said. (Rona Joyce Fernandez)