Egay responds

Cong Corrales

RECEIVING feedback has always been, to me, the thing that makes writing worthwhile. It completes the writing. Writing, after all, is communication, and feedback completes that cycle.

For those who have been following “My Wit’s End” — yes, I’m talking to all 137 of you — I lent my space to articulate the rants of an irate driver-friend on the traffic situation in and around the city.

To refresh your memory, my irate driver-friend divided his rants into three parts: traffic lights, traffic enforcers, and their mobility.

It has since reached the ears, err eyes, of Cagayan de Oro traffic czar lawyer Edgardo “Egay” Uy. He PM-ed me about two hours after that day’s issue hit the streets. He has graciously answered my irate driver-friend’s rants, point-by-point.

So, to end this cycle, I have decided to once again lend my space to Uy’s reply in full and as is. Although, I highly doubt that we’ve heard the last of this particular subject matter [smirks].

Nota bene for those who have been hiding under a rock: RTA is Roads and Traffic Administration, and CCTV stands for closed-circuit television.

Please, do read on.

“Yes, brew, I read your column.  Allow me to clarify the concerns raised by your irate driver-friend.

“1. The traffic lights. The entire project [traffic light and CCTV systems] was not yet turned over to the city by the contractor. The CCTV component is already 99.99% complete while the traffic lights component is still about 70% done.

“Mayor Moreno created a task force to oversee the completion of the project.  The chairmanship changed hands recently and I now head it. We are conducting weekly meetings with the project contractor, needless to state, to closely monitor their progress.

“Our team has required some corrections in the traffic lights that were already installed, e.g., cabling method, safety triggers, etc. These are among the reasons there are flashing traffic lights. These are being worked out by the contractor in coordination with our team.

“We have given the contractor until the end of the year to fully turn over the project to the City.  Failing in this, legal action will have to be resorted to by the City.

“2. On Traffic Aides. Yes, the RTA trains them before they are fielded. We have strengthened the RTA education team and have come up with training modules both for new hires and the tenured ones. And training is continuing.

“Traffic aides are supposed to wear their issued vests for visibility especially at night. If there are those who fail to wear the vests, we would be happy to receive detailed reports so the RTA supervisors could immediately do corrective actions.

“We are currently re-organizing the RTA to address managerial requirements. One of the focus areas are (sic) traffic aides on the road because the RTA needs to closely supervise them, especially that the enforcement group comprises about 75% of its workforce.

“3. On mobility. The RTA has added motorcycles to the Motorcycle Enforcement Unit of the RTA to partly address mobility concerns. The RTA is also beefing up its fleet but we cannot do it at one stroke given some limitations. As a part of this, the RTA will also strengthen its ability to maintain its fleet to ensure the availability of roadworthy vehicles.

“Thank you for the observations. We welcome feedback from the public so we can continue to improve the RTA and the service it renders.”