ON July 13, 2015 the Roads and Traffic Administration will celebrate its 17th year of being a separate department in the city government. This will be another first in the department which we hope will continue to bolster the morale of the men and women in the department. While the predecessor of the RTA was born in much earlier years, first as a traffic council until its creation as such in 1998, its being a separate department with a more defined organizational structure that’s currently being refined, dates back to seventeen years ago. When I posted this on Facebook somebody sarcastically commented on the lack of budget the RTA is now facing but yet it is celebrating. I wanted to comment on the depth of that comment, or lack of it, but I opted to hold back because there is no point in doing so because that comment simple did not truly appreciate the meaning of celebrating an anniversary. Celebrating an anniversary does not even require money or budget. The significance of celebrating the anniversary is more on honoring and recognizing the sacrifices that the dedicated earlier members of the organization did, and for the younger recruits to realize that the department has grown to what it is now regardless of the negative criticisms from detractors. One other important point in celebrating the anniversary is for the younger recruits to realize that they will grow with the department if they are serious in their jobs and avoid the temptations of corruption and mulcting on the streets. Moreover, marking important anniversaries such as this can actually help strengthen the teamwork that we are building in the department. Special occasions such as this will make the members more relaxed and open to one another thus removing the barriers and probably professional rivalry that may possibly exist among the ranks. The celebration will be tagged as RTA Fiesta. It will feature a modest display of photos taken from the earlier years to the present and a video showing of some significant milestones of the department, thanks to Dotie Delute. It is also include a modest dinner that traffic officers could partake after day’s work. It will of course be preceded by a mass to be held at the RTA seminar room. Overall chair for the celebration is Mayang Curilan. The displays will also include photos that depict positivity. Those are photos that were recently posted on Facebook where RTA Traffic Aides were photographed or videoed doing their best on the roads not only as traffic officers but as hard-working and generous individuals. Happy anniversary, RTA!