TO ADDRESS the growing problem of traffic congestion, the Provincial Board (PB) approved an ordinance creating an Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (IACT) during its weekly session yesterday.
The IACT will serve as the recommendatory board that will streamline all of Cebu’s traffic policies and will serve as its main traffic enforcement division, said PB Member Edsel Galeos.
Galeos, who authored the ordinance, said the IACT will serve as an advisory board to Gov. Hilario Davide III on matters of traffic and must coordinate with various government agencies.
Galeos, who is also chairman of the PB’s committee on public service, said the IACT will also serve as the Province’s main traffic policy-making body.
It will initiate and coordinate with local government units (LGUs), national government offices and nongovernment groups on potential policies and plans when it comes to traffic management, Galeos said.
“The IACT will also assure the synchronization of the enforcement of all traffic laws, ordinances and policies,” Galeos said in Cebuano.
The IACT will also assess the overall traffic situation and make recommendations to the PB for the adoption of laws, including those concerning commuter safety.
Aside from recommending laws and policies governing traffic, Galeos said the IACT will promote traffic education not just to law enforcers but also to school kids.
Capitol traffic management focal person Jonathan Tumulak said that the approval of the ordinance is a good start in addressing Cebu’s traffic problems.
Tumulak said that even before the ordinance was approved, they had received requests from LGUs to train and orient their enforcers on basic traffic management and enforcement.
Tumulak hopes the IACT will function before All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day and the Christmas season, when more motorists and commuters are expected to take to the streets. (JERRA MAE LIBREA, USJ-R INTERN)