MMDA traffic chief supports creation of mobility czar office

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic chief Colonel Bong Nebrija on Thursday expressed support for the proposal to appoint a mobility czar to lead efforts to curb the country’s transportation woes.

Interviewed by GMA Network’s resident analyst Richard Heydarian, Nebrija said the proposal will unify all government efforts to solve the transportation crisis.

“Now Congress is proposing for a mobility czar. Maganda rin naman ‘yun,” he said. “So ngayon, lahat ng efforts ng traffic and transport management ng gobyerno is unified.”

Under Senate Bill No. 1157 or the Mobility Relief Act, some of the duties of the mobility czar will be to identify transport and traffic issues in Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City, formulate Mobility Action Plans for metropolitan areas, and propose a list of priority infrastructure projects for the transport sector.

Section 2 of the bill recognizes the “existence of a transport and traffic crisis,” which is contrary to earlier claims by Malacañang and the Department of Transportation that there is no mass transportation crisis in the country.

“It is a crisis of national significance because losses due to traffic have amounted to billions of pesos a day, thus, requiring urgent, immediate and focused actions from the government,” the document read. — Julia Ornedo/MDM, GMA News