THE town of Minglanilla has long been tagged as the “traffic capital of the south,” a label that Mayor Rajiv Enad said can be traced back to a single incident “many years back” long before his administration, when the town’s chief traffic head and all personnel held a Christmas party, leaving no one on duty.
The result was a massive gridlock that lasted three to seven hours.
“After that, some called it the traffic capital of the south, and unfortunately that notion seems to have stuck in the minds of people until today, that Minglanilla is the bearer of heavy traffic,” Enad said in an interview Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, on SunStar Cebu’s online news and commentary program ‘Beyond the Headlines.’
An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 vehicles head north from southern Cebu to Cebu City through Minglanilla daily.
Another 50,000 to 60,000 vehicles travel back south. That’s more than 120,000 vehicles squeezed into a single national highway daily without an alternative road.
Enad said the sheer volume of vehicles makes bottlenecks inevitable, especially during peak hours between 6 to 8 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.
With no diversion road at the moment, all traffic relies on the national highway, creating bottlenecks during these hours.
Enad explained that around 70 percent of vehicles on this stretch are not even from Minglanilla; but motorists have no other option but to pass through its narrow town center.
Action taken
Since taking office in 2022, Enad said he has taken several steps to improve traffic management in the city.
The number of traffic personnel has increased from 100 to 150, with officers now deployed in three shifts to ensure round-the-clock coverage.
CCTV monitoring has been implemented at all major intersections, providing 24-hour surveillance linked directly to a central control center for better oversight.
A traffic light system has been rolled out which, Enad said, has helped improve the traffic flow.
The Mayor has also enforced a strict anti-corruption policy, dismissing any traffic personnel found guilty of extortion or misconduct, reinforcing a zero-tolerance stance on corruption within the department.
As part of the municipality’s midterm traffic solutions, Enad said two major road projects are being pursued.
The first is the Linao-Cantabaco Road, a proposal revived with the help of 1st District Rep. Rhea Gullas. The road begins beside McDonald’s in Minglanilla, turns right toward the mountain barangays, and exits in Cantabaco, Toledo City.
This would allow vehicles heading to Toledo and western Cebu to bypass the congested Minglanilla highway.
Enad noted that the project has already received two years of funding in phases.
Construction started last year, and phase two is ongoing this year, 2025. He hopes the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will complete the project within the next two years.
The second is a proposed SRP–Minglanilla Bypass Road, which Enad pitched to Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro.
Under the plan, vehicles from SRP would no longer need to merge at Starmall. Instead, they could turn left at Talisay City Hall in Barangay Mojon, head toward Barangay Tungkil in Minglanilla, and exit in Barangay Calajoan, connecting to the coastal road.
Bigger roads
Enad credited Talisay City Mayor Samsam Gullas for widening portions of the road on the Talisay side through national funding. He said he has requested for the project’s continuation into Minglanilla and hopes the Provincial Government will support it.
To keep traffic manageable, the municipality has ordinances banning stopping and parking along the national highway and restricting delivery trucks to nighttime operations after 8 p.m.
A traffic code is also being finalized to strengthen enforcement, with violators already being fined.
“Traffic congestion is not a daily occurrence in Minglanilla anymore. Before, it was almost every day. With more personnel, it really helped the traffic flow. It may still get heavy at times, but at least it’s flowing,” Enad said.
He acknowledged that traffic remains a “dynamic” problem, one that requires constant adjustments until alternative roads are completed. / CAV