LTO assures support to ease Baguio traffic

By Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Land Transportation Office said it will support the new leadership of the Baguio city government in its thrust to ease traffic congestion in the central business district area.

LTO-CAR regional director Francis Ray Almora said the agency is willing to extend its assistance to the city government in the coming months to ensure it will succeed in its endeavor to lessen the traffic congestions in various parts of the city.

Earlier, incoming Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said one of the priority programs of his administration is to address the prevailing traffic congestions around the city through the employment of scientific solutions.

Based on the data obtained from the LTO Baguio field office, the number of registered motor vehicles in the city reached over 57,600 at the end of 2018 compared to the over 44,000 vehicles that were registered in the city in 2017.

                “On our part, we will strictly implement the provisions of our transportation law so that erring motorists will realise we mean business in doing our assigned duties and responsibilities. We will also sustain the aggressive implementation of our mandates so that there will be no excuse that we are doing the same just for a show,” Director Almora stressed.

The new LTO-CAR official recognized the tremendous increase in the number of motor vehicles plying the city’s narrow streets, a cause of traffic congestion thus appropriate measures must be adopted for better traffic flow around the city.

According to him, it is still best for the city government to closely coordinate with the LTO-CAR in the implementation of traffic rules and regulations to ensure the police and city government personnel tasked to do so will be appropriately deputized by the agency for them to be clothed with the authority to implement provisions of the transportation law.

Almora added the agency will also review the deputation orders granted to their partner agencies to assess whether or not there will be a need to deputize more qualified personnel to ensure the aggressive implementation of the transportation law and instill discipline among the motorists, both residents and visitors alike.

However, Almora appealed for utmost understanding from both the city officials and the public as the agency has inadequate personnel to immediately attend to the issues and concerns being brought to their attention for appropriate action, thus, the LTO people have to prioritize issues needing immediately attention before working on the others.

He said the LTO and the regional office of the Department of Transportation and Railways (DOTR-CAR) will remain steadfast in providing quality service to the agency’s clients coupled with the efforts to elevate their services to a higher level with the increasing transport issues around the country brought about by modernization, among others, that affect the overall interest of the public.