By Jel Santos
Assistant Secretary Celine Pialago, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) spokesperson, agreed with former MMDA chairman and now Marikina City 1st District Representative Bayani Fernando that the agency should be allowed to enact ordinances to solve traffic woes in the metropolis.
(CAMILLE ANTE / MB FILE PHOTO)
“Currently, we need the approval of the Metro Manila Council (MMC) for our draft resolutions and policies before we can impose them,” she said.
With the worsening traffic condition, Pialago said that they should be given such authority.
“We really need that. We are thankful to former MMDA chairman Cong. Fernando for supporting us. We need more power at hindi na masyadong marami ang pinagdaraanan namin,” the MMDA spokesperson expressed.
Pialago said it usually takes the MMC, the governing board and policy-making body of MMDA, at least five months to pass policies and ordinances.
MMC is composed of the mayors of the cities and municipalities in Metro Manila.
Should MMDA be given the power to legislate, Pialago said MMDA will focus on creating ordinances to ease the traffic congestion on major thoroughfares in the metropolis.
In a television interview at ANC on Monday, Fernando said that MMDA has ample powers to supervise traffic in the metropolis, but he said that MMDA should be given the power to enact laws and ordinances.
“MMDA has the power to supervise traffic, but… The should have the power to legislate or enact laws and ordinances, because the court said we are not a political subdivision we cannot legislate,” the former MMDA chairman said during the interview.
Meanwhile, Fermando said that by giving MMDA the power to legislate, it may solve the problem of “kanya-kanya” of every local government where they implement different traffic ordinances, saying such confuse motorists.