To the men and women of RTA

Egay Uy

WHAT is happening to the city’s political arena is beyond us to control. However, the mandate of the office of the Roads and Traffic Administration should not only be our concern but also of those who occupy the seat of power in City Hall, regardless of political color.

We have been discussing about loyalty, the best mode of which is loyalty to our jobs, not to personalities.  I hope the recent events, even as they are still being debated upon before the Ombudsman and the Court of Appeals, will not change that outlook – that you are expected to be loyal to your jobs.

The RTA has gone through difficult times in the recent past.  What we wanted to do to address the increasing volume of road users in the city could not freely take off because of reasons we all know about.  But then, our office and the RTA have surpassed the trials because of all of you, the dedicated men and women of the Roads and Traffic Administration.

I know that there still exist doubting Thomases within the RTA despite our earnest efforts to harmonize and professionalize the department.  We have always emphasized in our values reformation and traffic education sessions that we will someday see a professionalized Roads and Traffic Administration.  And this is happening.

We have lived through criticisms both from within and outside of the department simply because we cannot please everybody.  Never mind the deliberate attempts to sabotage the programs that we wanted to introduce on the roads.  We have lived through them as well.

You have weathered the storm on the roads.  You have experienced being harassed by road users, being criticized for imagined reasons, and being ostracized because you wanted to be sincere in implementing laws in our streets.  And you have been relentless in pursuing the mandate of the RTA.  I thank you for that.

I request you to just do your job, and do it with dedication and passion.  Do not be misled by political innuendos and attempts to demoralize you.  Your job is to make road users’ lives on the streets comfortable.  And I have seen successes in that department.

We have started so many programs that are aimed at improving the services that the RTA will be able to deliver to the community. Your whole-hearted support to the leadership of the RTA will make things happen, and I hope you will adopt those positive programs as part of your way of life.

As I have said, the worst thing that can happen to the RTA is when it becomes influenced by the game of politics.  So let us all be shielded from this by simply doing what our mandate expects us to do, and that is to keep the roads and public places in the city safe and orderly for road users.

And please continue with the collaboration with the community because a healthy relationship with the community will result in what is best for the greater majority of those whom we vowed to serve.

Here’s a round of applause to the dedicated men and women of the Roads and Traffic Administration.

Sincerely,

TF Hapsay Dalan Chairman