MMDA News Archive

First Batch of Metro Manila Film Festival 2007 Entries

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is confident that this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival Phil. (MMFFP) will generate considerable increase in gross revenues compared to last year’s P418 million with the participation of 13 potential box office film entries that would make it into the roster of the MMFFP.

Fernando, concurrently the MMFFP Over-all Chairman, said this year’s festival is expected to soar to greater heights insofar as box office attendance is concerned with the announcement on Friday (June 8) of the first batch of winners.

The first batch of winning entries have been selected and sifted on the basis of their scripts that would eventually make it to the roster from a variety of genres.

“This year’s entries have all the critical elements that could launch a box-office hit and our beneficiaries stand to gain from these brilliant creations,” Fernando said.

The MMFFP is a breath of fresh air to the dying local movie industry and its beneficiaries include the Film Academy of the Phil., Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy Council, Movie Workers Welfare Fund, Optical Media Board, Film Development Council of the Phil. and the Presidential Social Fund.

The tentative list of actors and actresses that would top bill this year’s 13 official entries to the MMFFP include Bong Revilla and Roxanne Guinoo for “Resiklo” under Imus Productions, Gretchen Barreto/Asunta de Rossi/Marvin Agustin/Jay Manalo for “Ang Anino,” Ideal Concept/Violett Films; Maricel Soriano/Jennilyn Mercado/Dennis Trillo for “Bahay Kubo,” MAQ Productions; Jinggoy Estrada/Lorna Tolentino for “Katas ng Saudi,” Maverick Films; Vic Sotto/Kristine Hermosa for “Enteng Kabisote 4,” Octoarts Films; Judy Ann Santos/Ryan Agoncillo, “Mr. Housewife (Maybahay Ko),” Octoarts Films; Ogie Alcasid/Ara Mina for “Babang Luksa,” Reality/APT Entertainment; Ogie Alcasid/Iza Calsado/Vina Morales for “Buchikik,” Red Sun Productions;

Manilyn Reynes/Erich Gonzales/Nash Aguash for “Shake, Rattle & Roll 9; Pauleen Luna/Jiro Manio/Alfred Vargas for “Pinoy Super Kid-A Boy,” St.Peter’s Productions; Judy Ann Santos/Ryan Agoncillo for “Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo,” Star Cinema-ABS-CBN; Michael V./Eula Valdez/Iza Calsado for “Daddy Ko Si Mommy,” Unitel Pictures; and Dennis Trillo/Jiro Manio/Camille Pratts for “Cuaresma” under X-Zone Entertainment.

Of the 13 entries, six will be chosen to form part of the first batch of movies that will be shown in all theaters nationwide starting Dec.25, 2007 while the remaining ones will comprise the second batch to be exhibited from January 1, 2008.

The second batch of official entries will be announced on June 28, 2007.

The MMFFP, which is being held annually during the Christmas season under the auspices of the MMDA, continues to be successful because local filmmakers are constantly innovating, making each festival bigger and better than the previous one year after year, Fernando said. (bact to top)

Oplan Balik Eskuela 2007

A total of three thousand traffic enforcers, laborers and street sweepers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have been deployed to school zones in Metro Manila to maintain the free flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic when school opens Monday (June 4).

They form part of the MMDA’s “Oplan Balik Eskwela 2007” contingent that were mobilized last Monday by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando to monitor the traffic situation, adopt appropriate action and conduct massive cleaning operations in school zones, particularly in public elementary and high schools.

Fernando tasked 1,500 traffic enforcers and another 1,500 and another 1,500 camineros under President Arroyo’s “Trabaho! Trabaho!” program to report to their respective areas of assignment from 5:30 a.m to 10 p.m. to man traffic, spruce up school building facades, sidewalk curbs and pedestrian lane markings, clear sidewalks and roadways of obstructions, ensure continuous operation of traffic signals and crossings, inspect and replace broken manhole covers and clean inlets to ensure flood-free access to school premises.

Traffic management and enforcement under Oplan Balik Eskwela this year will focus more on commuters and pedestrians more than the motor vehicles with the traffic enforcers now trained to adopt an “About Face” strategy, according to Traffic Management and Enforcement Area chief Aris Mercado.

Undisciplined commuters and pedestrians who scramble for a ride in undesignated loading and unloading bays have been identified as one of the factors that hamper the smooth flow of vehicles during rush hours, Mercado said.

Under the “About Face’ Strategy,” traffic enforcers would be facing pedestrians with their backs on the vehicles and directing them where to get a ride. The “Wet Flag” campaign to encourage pedestrians and commuters to use the sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and designated loading and unloading bays will be intensified this school opening.

In the case of traffic management on loading and unloading bays, the “Pink Flag” operation is still in place, Mercado said. Pink Flag operation involves regulating the loading and unloading time for public utility vehicles to pick up or drop off passengers in designated stops by an enforcer carrying a pink flag attached to a pole with a bell. (bact to top)

MMDA , Cavite and Las Piñas Top Brass Finalize Traffic Reduction Plans

Cavite and Las Piñas top officials today welcomed the move of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to assist them in traffic management particularly in the town of Bacoor leading to Metro Manila.

Cavite Gov. Erineo Maliksi, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar and Mayor-Elect lauded the MMDA’s move to help ease the high volume of vehicular traffic on Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite and Coastal Road on the boundaries of Las Piñas and Bacoor as “long overdue but a big help” to entangle the traffic gridlock on the said areas leading to and from Cavite.

“We wouldn’t mind the MMDA coming to our rescue insofar as traffic management is concerned because they are widely-acclaimed traffic experts,” Maliksi told MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, his traffic and technical personnel and representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways during this morning’s inspection tour of perennially traffic-prone areas.

President Arroyo has reportedly directed Fernando to extend the agency’s traffic management duties to Cavite following complaints from motorists of the dreadful traffic situation there day in and day out.

Maliksi said businessmen have also complained that their businesses have slackened due to the slow delivery and transport of their goods brought about by the traffic snarls in Cavite and Las Piñas.

“ It takes three to four hours for our delivery trucks to reach their areas of destination when normally they can do it in 30 minutes only,” Maliksi, Villar and Aguilar jointly told the MMDA chief.

For his part, Fernando bared his traffic reduction plans for Cavite which include :

Clear sidewalks of vendors and other forms of obstruction and sidewalk rehabilitation
Widening of Aguinaldo Highway
Install U-Turn slots
Construct footbridges
Adopt geometric improvements and install traffic fixtures and signages
(bact to top)

MMDA seeks suspension of two (2) RTC Judges

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has filed administrative charges against two judges of the Quezon City regional trial court (RTC) before the Supreme Court for alleged ignorance of the law in connection with their issuance of temporary restraining orders (TROs) against government infrastructure projects.

In a 25-page administrative complaint filed before the SC, the MMDA, through Chairman Bayani Fernando, is seeking the suspension of Q.C. RTC Executive Judge Romeo Zamora and Presiding Judge Bernelito Fernandez for their alleged gross ignorance of the law when they issued two TROs stopping the agency from constructing a footbridge along E. Rodriguez Ave, C-5, Libis, Quezon City.

On January 12, 2007, Judge Zamora issued a 72-hour TRO in favor of complainant Citibank Square Condominium Corp. which claimed that the MMDA was encroaching on its property line when agency personnel started marking the location of a steel footbridge outside Citibank’s premises. Citibank averred that its major technical facilities and business operations would be unduly affected by the construction of the footbridge.

Judge Fernandez subsequently granted the extension of the 72-hour TRO and converted the same to a 20-day TRO which the MMDA argued were in clear violation of R.A. 8975 in relation to Presidential Decree 1818 and Administrative Circular No. 11-2000.

Both statutes prohibit courts, except the Supreme Court, from issuing TROs and preliminary injunctions in cases involving government infrastructure and natural resource development projects.

The Metro Manila Council, composed of Metro mayors, has approved the implementation of the Seven Major Roads and Investors’ Corridor projects as components of the Integrated Infrastructure Project for Metro Manila and the Metro Gwapo project of the MMDA. President Arroyo has likewise approved the implementation of the same by the MMDA, in coordination with the public works and highways department.

R.A. 8975 also carries with it a penal sanction of at least 60 days without pay, in addition to other civil and criminal liabilities, against a judge who violates the same.

The MMDA pointed out that judges Zamora and Fernandez demonstrated patent and gross ignorance of the fundamental principles enunciated in substantive and procedural laws and jurisprudence relating to issuance of TROs citing that Citibank failed miserably to establish a clear right to injunctive relief and will not suffer any grave or irreparable injury.

They (judges) demonstrated gross and palpable ignorance of the law in erroneously ruling that Citibank’s TRO shall be effective for a period of 20 days from the end of the 72-hour TRO issued by the office of the executive judge, the MMDA said adding that these warrant the most severe penalties that the Sc may impose.

“In no case shall the total period of effectivity of the TRO exceed 20 days, including the original 72-hours provided therein,” the MMDA explained.

“The evidence on record demonstrates the respondent judges’ acts of gross ignorance of elementary provisions of substantive and procedural law and jurisprudence to the utter detriment of the national government, through the MMDA,” the MMDA said.

Libis residents have made representations with Fernando citing the urgent need to build a pedestrian footbridge in the area for public safety reasons and the spate of road accidents involving pedestrians and motorists since last year.

“ A key factor to reduce fatal accidents is to give pedestrians a safer alternative in crossing the busy roadways. Through a footbridge, pedestrians can easily cross wide thoroughfares in safety and vehicular traffic remains unimpeded,” Fernando said.

The MMDA road safety unit (RSU) reported a total of 506 road accidents that occurred within the 500-meter radius from the projected footbridge site since last year.

In 2006 alone, two persons died, 50 were seriously injured and 266 suffered damages on their lives and property. From January to March this year, the RSU said one person had died, 12 sustained injuries and 81 victims had complained of damages to their property. (bact to top)

Court denies grant of TRO in sidewalk rehab case

The Quezon City regional trial court (RTC) has denied for “no sufficient justification” a petition for the issuance of a preliminary injunction sought by a building owner to stop the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) from pursuing the rehabilitation of the sidewalk in front of his property along Edsa in Quezon City.

Q.C. RTC Judge Amelia Fabros, in a one-page order, directed the management of Solid Homes, Inc. and the MMDA to observe status quo until the final resolution of the injunctive relief being sought by the building owner from the case.

Judge Fabros said that Solid Homes’ claim that the construction of the sidewalk being undertaken by the MMDA would deprive it of its property rights without due process of law because the MMDA has encroached on it by around five meters was not clearly supported and substantiated and remained merely as pure speculation.

“The absence of such clear and present unlawful taking thereof, the petitioner’s prayer for preliminary injunction is not warranted,” the judge said.

The court also took into consideration the fact that the construction of the sidewalk appears to be a legitimate MMDA project which involves the provision of a drop curve that will serve as entrance and exit of the tenants of the building.

Solid Homes claimed that the construction of a 10-inches thick gutter pavement of the MMDA would deprive the building tenants and customers the use of the parking space fronting its building.

The MMDA countered that it had issued a prior notice to Solid Homes of the agency’s ongoing sidewalk rehabilitation project along the entire stretch of Edsa which is aimed at providing pedestrians an obstruction-free and safe walkway.

To date, the project is more than 77 percent complete. The MMDA has been notifying affected residents and building owners to conform to its standard design of 2 percent slope for driveways being implemented throughout Edsa. (bact to top)

Spy Cameras to catch litterbug

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has ordered his staff to install spy cameras in discreet places to catch residents who have been indiscriminately dumping garbage on creeks and other waterways in the metropolis.

Before installing surveillance cameras, flood control and sanitation monitoring teams will start plastering big identification numbers on houses fronting these waterways to enable the agency to finally clamp down on the culprits, particularly illegal settlers living along esteros.

Fernando said the agency is taking such move as another proactive measure to crack the unabated dumping of wastes on the waterways problem which he said is one of the main reasons why there is still unnecessary flooding in various parts of Metro Manila.

“ Today, these litterbugs are fiercer than ever. They think they can simply violate any law simply because there is no one around to run after them,” he said.

“ We cannot but be concerned to put a stop to this problem which, if left unattended to, will negate the giant strides we have achieved to reduce flooding and of course wreck havoc on the environment,” he added.

At least 100 small river boats, which have been built by the MMDA to help sustain the cleanliness and beautification campaign of the government along Pasig River and other tributaries will also be tapped to help in abating the illegal dumping of garbage along creeks.

The MMDA will enlist the help of local government units to ensure the success of this new campaign and help pin down violators of the Anti-Littering law.
(bact to top)

Five new bridges across Pasig River

Five new bridges across Pasig River will be built in the cities of Manila, Mandaluyong and Makati as soon as the ongoing massive clearing of illegal settlers and garbage on creeks and waterways of Metro Manila are completed.

This was bared today by Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) who said that plans are being finalized to start building by the end of the year connecting bridges across
Pasig River and between two streets on Trabajo, Elino Cruz, Lindayag and Mabini , all in Mandaluyong City; Makati Del Binondo and Muelle del Rio in Manila, Lawton Ave. and Sta. Monica, both in Makati and Mandaluyong cities; and Dr.Carrion and Posadas in Manila.

Fernando said the new infrastructure projects form part of an inter-agency long-term plan to develop and improve the rivers in the metropolis with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as the lead agency, together with the MMDA and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC).

Funds for the construction of the new bridges will be sourced out from the DPWH, Fernando said.

At the same time, the MMDA is awaiting the release of fund from the PRRC to defray the expenses for maintaining the cleanliness of Pasig River which the MMDA said will not only look good but will smell good in no time.

“The measure of a clean river is it should smell good and our workers are clearing river wastes one after the other and not through a shotgun-approach,” he said.

To clear the creeks and esteros of squatter families who have been identified as mainly responsible for the indiscriminate dumping of garbage onto the waterways, the MMDA chief has directed his staff to scout for few parcels of land in the suburbs where these settlers can be relocated.

Fernando is optimistic that at the rate high-impact projects like infrastructure development being undertaken by the agency under the Metro Gwapo program are going, “it would be safe to declare that the improvement and beautification of the metropolis would have achieved its Metro Gwapito level by next year”.
(bact to top)

Investors' Corridor going full blast

The spruce-up of Metro Manila and its environs will not grind to a halt despite opposition from certain quarters, according to Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Fernando, during an ocular inspection over the weekend of the ongoing face-lifting activities of roads from the Airport area to the business districts, tourist attractions, and hotels and inns under the MMDA's "Investors' Corridor" program, said President Arroyo has directed the agency to continue with its cleanliness and beautification of the metropolis without let-up.

Reports have it that cadena de amor shrubs and banana plants planted along center islands and roadsides from Magallanes to South Superhighway in Makati City by MMDA landscape workers have been uprooted allegedly on orders of Mayor Jejomar Binay.

Fernando said the President has repeatedly reminded him during a recent inspection made on the progress of the Investors' Corridor project to get things done to improve the image of Metro Manila, to lure more local and foreign investors to help uplift the country's economy, and not to falter in the face of opposition.

" Sabi nya (Ms. Arroyo) gawin ko sa Metro Manila ang ginawa ko sa Marikina at gawin ang dapat gawin," he said.

Under the Investors' Corridor program, MMDA personnel are working round-the-clock doing carpentry, masonry and painting works on rundown structures along the road, clearing and repair of sidewalks and leveling of roads, installation of traffic facilities, landscaping, provision of adequate street lights, cleaning and dredging of waterways and rounding up of street nomads.

Streets sweepers, with broomsticks and tongs in tow, are now working by clusters at Gate 5 of the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City repainting the perimeter fence and frontages of dilapidated houses,, center islands, curbs and gutters, pruning, balling and aligning trees and repairing damaged portions of the road.

The beautification campaign has covered more grounds and betters results seen. Now, houses areas covered under the Investors' Route, which used to be wanting in cleanliness and orderliness, underwent repair and painting jobs, free of charge, front yards spruced up, new street posts installed, damaged roads repaired and ornamental shrubs planted in flower boxes on the roadsides and center islands.

The areas covered under the upgrading project include NAIA Ave./ MIA Road, Roxas/Macapagal Blvd., P, Burgos - Nagtahan, Qurino Ave.-South Superhighway, Buendia-Lawton Ave. and Sales/Andrews Ave./Domestic Road/Airport Road.(bact to top)

Release of MMDA Traffic Enforcers

A Makati inquest fiscal yesterday ordered the release of the traffic enforcer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) arrested for trying to apprehend a motorist in Makati for no prima facie evidence to justify the suspect's detention.

Makati Assistant Prosecutor Nora Sibucao, in an order, ordered the release of MMDA enforcer Eddie Cruz from police custody because she said the latter when apprehended was only in possession of expired Traffic Violation Receipts (TVRs) and that there is no evidence that he issued the TVRs.

"Thus, the warrantless arrest is not valid as it does not fall under Section 5 (a) of the Rule 113 of the Revised Rules of Court," Sibucao said. Adding that mere possession of expired TVRs is not a criminal offense under the said court rules.

Sibucao has set the preliminary investigation of the case on January 23 and January 30, 2006 to further determine the exact culpability of Cruz.

MMDA Chief Lawyer Emmanuel de Castro warned that traffic policemen who would arrest MMDA traffic enforcers who are just doing their duties in compliance with their mandate face administrative charges of abuse of authority and arbitrary detention under Article 124 of the Revised Penal Code.

"They (policemen) cannot just arrest our enforcers without studying the case thoroughly and without a written order from Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay," de Castro said.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, for his part, said he welcomes the move to hear the case before the courts "so that the circumstances surrounding the issue could be discussed better,"

Cruz was caught confiscating the driver's license of a motorist and yielded expired TVRs and four drivers' licenses at the corner of EDSA and Ayala Ave. in Makati last Sunday.(bact to top)

Bawal Sampay Project supproted by ordinance

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today described as "false" recent media statements attributed to Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay that the agency's scheme of prohibiting people from hanging their laundry in front of their houses is not backed by an ordinance.

Fernando said the mayor had spoken out of turn when he questioned the legal basis of the said project, a component of the "Metro Guapo" beautification program, because he said the latter is covered by MMDA Resolution No. 02-28 Series of 2002 duly signed and approved by 15 mayors of the Metro Manila Council, Binay included.

Under the said resolution, the council authorizes the MMDA and local government units to clear the sidewalks, streets, avenues, alleys, bridges, parks and other public places in Metro Manila of illegal structures and obstructions which include washing and hanging clothes and bathing, vending food, magazines, cigarettes and other items for commercial and personal purposes to ensure a smooth, safe and convenient flow of traffic and goods in the metropolis.

On the reported order of Binay to arrest MMDA traffic enforcers apprehending motorists in Makati, the MMDA chief said he did not believe that the Makati mayor would stand in the way of enforcers simply doing their duties in compliance with the agency's mandate as confirmed by the Supreme Court's latest clarification on its Dec. 5 ruling.

"We will still continue what is best for Metro Manila, i.e., to enforce traffic rules and making sure motorists and pedestrians obey them to maintain discipline and order in the streets," he said.(bact to top)

PRESS STATEMENT OF MMDA CHAIRMAN BAYANI
FERNANDO ON THE CANADA STUDY TOUR AND US SIDE
TRIP

I am forced to acknowledge the unusual timing of recent media reports on our forthcoming study tour in Canada this month because my name and those of the other Metro mayors have been dragged into the controversy by the supposed trip in deeply unflattering terms.

To wit, statements were attributed to certain quarters tending to cast doubts on an official government trip, practically dismissing it as a "junket" and even slipped innuendos into the said mission. This is another sad commentary on our penchant for bickering where every well-meaning is questioned.

On hindsight, I still nurture the benefit of the doubt that the specific points raised by the supposed source of the news stories may not necessarily represent an official statement of his office.

To set things straight, I'd like to make clear that the projected trip is on invitation to the Metro mayors and myself by the government of Vancouver whose officials were in town last September. The Canadian study tour was originally set last October yet and after subsequent postponements, it has been finally set for January 15 to January 19 this year.

The trip is far from the hand-pumping stump that was brought to the attention of the public. It is, however you put it, allows us local executives, to dialogue with our counterparts in the Greater Vancouver Council, to check urban development programs such as waste disposal and traffic management and projects, and in the case of foreign trips, to help us, in turn, draft our program of action for Metro Manila.

It is, by and large, the benchmark of an enlightened and responsible governance the untold benefits of which would surely redound to millions of our residents in Metro Manila.

The Metro mayors who will join me in the Canadian trip will shoulder their travel expenses out of their own pockets because the government might not give us funds.

The reported side trip to Las Vegas is not part of the official itinerary for the mayors. It is purely coincidental. We will pass by Vegas because our plane will stop over there. Anyone who would want to watch and cheer for Manny Pacquiao is not prevented from doing so.(bact to top)

Outcome of BF's staff meeting

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, in a staff meeting this morning, announced the following :
He warned the 700 members of the PNP's Traffic Enforcement Group (TEG) against using the Ordinance Violation Receipts (OVRs) of local government units as traffic citation tickets or they lose their deputation orders as traffic cops from the MMDA, otherwise.

TEG Head Col. Philmore Balmaceda, for his part, said his unit will abide by Fernando's orders and that they fully support the agency's traffic management schemes

On the Dec. 5 Supreme Court ruling stripping the agency of its legislative and powers, Fernando reiterated that the High Court's decision is "moot and academic." "We have long stopped confiscating drivers' licenses, the SC ruling merely stops us from confiscating them," he said.

As his projections for the new year, the MMDA is optimistic that his 12-pronged "Metro Guapo" flagship program to clean, beautify and restore order in the major thoroughfares of the metropolis will go full blast this year. For this project, he announced "Maginhawa, Malinis at Ganado" as his battlecry.

He is likewise optimistic that the review and redefinition of the mandate of the agency under the MMDA Charter still pending in Congress will wrap up early this year to put more teeth in the implementation of all MMDA programs and projects concerning traffic management. (bact to top)

Hefty bonus for MMFF fee producers

Producers of the 10 film entries making a big box-office splash in the ongoing Metro Manila Film Festival Philippines (MMFFP) have every reason to smile nowadays.

President Arroyo is expected to grant P1-million each as incentive and subsidy to the 10 movie producers participating in the 31st MMFFP this year, according to Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman and concurrent MMFFP Over-all Chairman Bayani Fernando.

At the same time, the MMFFP Executive Committee is shelling out its counterpart incentive of P750,000 each to the same producers as gratitude for their participation in the film festival and for having produced quality films that have made it to the roster of the 2005 MMFFP.

The President will announce the grant of the said incentives to the producers during the traditional Awards Night this Friday (Jan.6) at the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex in Pasay City where she is expected to grace the occasion.

The MMFFP Awards Night will cap off the holding of the film festival since last Christmas season where outstanding films and performers will be given due recognition and honor. A total of P3.2 million in cash awards are up for grabs to winners of different categories ranging from best picture and best actor and actress to the best make-up artist.

Fernando said the President's pledge of a total of P10 million to the producers this year and her usual financial assistance to the filmfest participants year after year have been giving a big boost to the film festival, the motion picture industry and thousands of its artists, technicians and workers.

" The MMFFP has been soaring to greater heights logging records in box-office attendance and imparting much-needed luster to the industry every year, a reputation earned because of the players constant drive for excellence and improvement," Fernando said.

The annual film festival, which is held under the auspices of the MMDA, has been made possible through a yearly P50 million subsidy being given by Ms. Arroyo since the MMFFP was re-launched as a nationwide Philippine movie event in 2002 in support to the local movie industry and help fight against film piracy.

The MMDA chair also disclosed that most of the 10 film entries to this year's film festival have been making good at the tills and have been able to draw more than six million Filipinos back to the movie houses to watch the following movies now being shown in theaters in Metro Manila and in major key cities nationwide : Enteng Kabisote 2 : Okay Ka Fairy Ko - The Legend Continues, Ako Legal Wife, Shake, Rattle and Roll, Mourning Girls, Exodus - Tales From The Enchanted Kingdom, Blue Moon, Kutob, Mulawin The Movie, Lagot Ka Sa Kuya Ko and Terrorist Hunter.(bact to top)

BF's Projections for 2006

TEG Head Col. Philmore Balmaceda, for his part, said his unit will abide by Fernando's orders and that they fully support the agency's traffic management schemes

MMFF Parade of Star Rolls on Christmas Eve

The traditional Metro Manila Film Festival Phil. (MMFF) Parade of Stars will spill into the streets of Metro Manila and in key cities nationwide on Dec. 24 prior to the exhibition of the 10 film entries the following Christmas day, according to Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and concurrently MMFF Over-all Chairman.

Fernando said top actors and actresses who are starring in the 10 MMFF movies to be shown in all theaters in Metro Manila and select cities all over the country starting on Dec. 25 until January 7, 2005 will ride on floats that will inch their way to every main thoroughfare of the metropolis to promote their respective films and generate excitement and awareness among moviegoers on Saturday afternoon (Dec.24).

The route of the fleet of float-bearing movie stars will start at the Quezon City Circle through Quezon Ave., Espana, Lerma, Quezon Blvd.Taft Ave., T.M. Kalaw, Roxas Blvd. and will culminate in front of the Aliw theater, CCP Complex, Fernando said.

" Since the MMFF is held during the Christmas season, the parade of stars will surely add to the festive mood and the break from school and work gives children and adults the chance to watch the 10 entries to the film festival," the MMFF Chairman said.

The 10 films that have made it to the roster of the MMFF include Exodus : Tale of the Enchanted Kingdom, Enteng Kabisote 2 Okay Ka Fairy Ko, Ako Legal Wife, Shake, Rattle and Roll, Mulawin, Kutob, Terrorist Hunter, Blue Moon, Mourning Girls and Lagot Ka Sa Kuya Ko.

Except for Blue Moon, Mourning Girls and Lagot Ka Sa Kuya Ko which will be shown in theaters starting January 1, 2006, the rest will have their Dec. 25th playdates.

The Christmas Eve MMFF Parade of Stars will be telecast live on RPN-9 with satellite stages to be put up in key areas of Metro Manila.

There will be a float competition with cash awards at stake ranging from P250,000 and P350,000 to the first and second runner-ups to P500,000 to the grand winner.

(bact to top)

TAKE A PHOTO OF AN EYESORE

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is going wireless in its monitoring and reporting of untidy and disorderly incidences in the metropolis to ensure a quick response system.
This was announced today by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando who said that through the Blue Tooth technology, anyone with a Multimedia Messaging System or MMS-enabled cellular phone can soon snap pictures and video clips of road emergencies, traffic accidents, erring MMDA traffic enforcers and other personnel, and streets and highways wanting in cleanliness and orderliness, and send them to the agency's Metrobase group that will guarantee action on the same in a jiffy or within 48 hours, at the most.
MMS is an evolution of the Short Message Service or SMS being used by mobile networks for text messaging system. With MMS-enabled cell phones, users can compose and send messages containing text and one or more multimedia elements like digital photos, audio and video.
" By putting in place the MMS-Aided Monitoring System (MAMS), we can now assure the public of a more attuned and improved response system in the effective delivery of our services to Metro Manila residents, particularly in the areas of traffic management, flood control and solid waste disposal," Fernando said.
Target date for the implementation of the MAMS is by January next year.
Nacancieno said the public may also avail of the MAMS once they spot illegally-parked vehicles, garbage piles, flooded areas, smoke-belching vehicles, littered streets, clogged waterways, sidewalk obstructions, unattended excavations, people indiscriminately dumping garbage, damaged sewer pipes, encroachments, illegal transport terminals, damaged traffic signs, open manholes, vagrants, graffiti, overloaded jeepneys, heavy traffic or choke points, illegally-installed billboards, garbage-filled waterways, illegal burning of garbage, damaged water pipes, no reflectorized traffic signs and uncovered garbage trucks..(bact to top)

TRAFFIC ENFORCERS TO BECOME TRAFFIC INVESTIGATOR

Echoing the call of a lawmaker to professionalize the ranks of traffic enforcers, Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today announced that apart from reorienting the agency's traffic aides in basic traffic rules, they will also soon be trained in traffic investigation and accident scene management and safety.

Fernando has directed his Traffic Enforcement Group (TEG) chief Col. Filmore Balmaceda to send back the enforcers to the MMDA's Traffic Academy in Sta. Mesa, Manila for retooling in the key areas of traffic enforcement and train them likewise on the rudiments of traffic investigation and accident scene management and safety.

He said traffic enforcers should be responsible for attending to the scenes of all accidents reported, whether they involve deaths or non-injury collisions. Hence, the need for them to be trained on these matters, he added.

"Since our enforcers are required to attend to these accidents, it makes good sense to make them additionally responsible for traffic-related mishaps," the MMDA chief said.

Besides, Fernando stressed, traffic enforcers-cum- investigators will augment the measly 800 TEG men who are tasked to manage traffic in the 17 cities and towns of Metro Manila.

Earlier, Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra called for the professionalization of the ranks of traffic enforcers and filed a bill requiring applicants for traffic enforcement jobs to take qualifying examinations supervised by the Professional Regulation Commission before they are hired.

On reorienting the agency's traffic enforcers and training them to become investigators, Fernando said that it is imperative for these men to acquaint themselves with the traffic handbook which he said explicitly spells out that their primary role and objective should be the reduction of fatal and serious injury accidents and that other considerations, such as ensuring the flow of traffic, should be secondary.

He, however, explained, that such secondary considerations have a major part to play in reducing the scope for accidents to occur. "Some aspects of enforcement have a more direct relationship to the reduction of accidents than others," he quipped.

At the Traffic academy, the agency's traffic enforcers will also be reoriented on the principles of traffic management such as classification of offenses, traffic legislation, strategies and tactics, safety campaigns, routine patrol, speed control and alcohol and drug abuse.

On traffic investigation and accident scene management and safety, these enforcers will be trained in collecting details, scene plans and sketches, interviews of witnesses and driver in accidents, and even in forensic accident investigation.(bact to top)

1,500 Traffic Enforcers Fielded to Oplan Kaluluwa

Starting Saturday (Oct. 29), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will deploy more than 1,500 of its traffic enforcers to all major thoroughfares in the metropolis to ensure the safe and orderly travel of thousands of residents to cemeteries and those going to the provinces for the All Saints Day break.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said linkages have been established and firmed up for the agency's traffic enforcers to beef up traffic and security measures under "Oplan Kaluluwa" next week with the Philippine National Police, local government units and other concerned government agencies in major roads and highways leading to and from public cemeteries, churches, malls and transport terminals such as bus stations, harbors, airport and rail transit.

Fernando said preparations have been underway as early as last month for MMDA personnel to provide assistance to motorists, commuters and pedestrians on All Saints Day through its emergency road and rescue operation capabilities on a 24-hour operation from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2.

" Without taking credit for anything, I think we have the people who half-run and not just walk, and with a true sense of urgency to respond to any exigency on the road and in places of public convergence," the MMDA chief pointed out.

Other Oplan Kaluluwa traffic and security measures include :

Traffic enforcers shall strictly enforce traffic rules, particularly traffic re-routing schemes
Assist commuters, particularly disabled persons, access to public transport systems
Traffic management in pre-identified critical routes
Intensive monitoring of the general situation in the metropolis through the MMDA metrobase as central communications center
Mobile equipment such as tow trucks, ambulances, rescue vehicles on standby for any emergen(bact to top)

UNTAGGED BUSES TO BE IMPOUNDED

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today warned that city buses which failed to beat last Oct. 12's deadline to register and tag under the agency's Organized Bus Route (OBR) scheme will no longer be allowed to pass through EDSA, and will be summarily impounded.

MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno issued the warning following reports reaching his office that about 1,700 buses or barely 56 per cent of the total 3.000 buses plying EDSA have so far registered to be part of the OBR scheme. He said the number represents almost all the legitimate buses while about 1,300 were assumed colorum.

At the same time, Nacianceno disclosed that starting this weekend, MMDA traffic enforcers will be on the lookout for recalcitrant bus drivers who will continue to defy the new OBR rules and still pass along EDSA preparatory to Monday's (Oct. 17) formal implementation of the OBR.

"We will throw the book at these drivers and bus operators who deliberate did not heed the Oct. 12 deadline on the pretext that their units have conked out. We are aware of the fact that some really intend to sabotage the OBR operations," he said.

On the other hand, Nacancieno has these words for others (drivers of untagged buses) who might insist plying their trade during weekends : "Don't think about it."

The OBR scheme, which is aimed at easing the traffic situation in Metro Manila, will include controlled and unified dispatch of buses from terminals to loading stations.

Buses passing through EDSA are required to carry with them color-coded dispatch numbers or tags issued by MMDA staff at terminals and control stations along EDSA where buses from various routes converge.

The OBR project is perceived to improve the operation of bus service in EDSA by controlling the headway between buses dispatched at terminals by passenger demand, and by strictly enforcing the rules on the use of public utility vehicle (PUV) lanes and loading and unloading stations.

It will also afford the MMDA and other traffic enforcement agencies to weed out colorum and out-of-line buses from the legitimate ones.

Work on the distribution of tags for Metro buses started several months ago and is more than 60 per cent complete. Tagging of buses for the OBR has been done at established terminals in Baclaran, Alabang, Navotas and Robinson's Place in Novaliches.

President Arroyo has endorses the OBR as one of her energy conservation measures to cut fuel and energy consumption in the wake of soaring oil prices. (bact to top)

NEDA CABINET MEETING AT MMDA

President Arroyo and her economic group will conduct their Cabinet meeting tomorrow (Oct.4) at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to address the most prominent concerns of the agency in improving the lives of the people of Metro Manila.

This was announced today by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando who said that preparations were being done with enthusiasm by MMDA officials and employees as early as last month for tomorrow's National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Cabinet meeting at the MMDA office in Makati where the President and her economic advisers will tackle with the former at least six of the agency's priority programs and projects on the pipeline.

Top on the agenda are the proposed North Luzon Railways project and MMDA innovative flagship projects which include the Public and Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation, Waterways Dwellers Relocation, Workers' Inn Bed-Bath-and-Shop, Sidewalk Dwellers Inventory and Relocation, Street Nomads Care and the Metro Padyakan. The proposed modern South Rail project is also included in the agenda.

The Cabinet meet is expected to come up with solid strategies to address the financial concerns of the proposed MMDA projects and programs.

"Bringing the services of the MMDA to the people is my advocacy. I will take time to explain the measures the MMDA is undertaking and the major strides we have achieved to improve the lives of Metro Manilans," Fernando said.

The Waterways Dwellers relocation concept takes off from an estimated 70,000 squatter families living on riverbanks and esteros in the metropolis to be relocated to safer and more livable places. The presence of these squatters and their illegal structures have been hampering the waterways' maintenance and flood control operations by the MMDA and local government units.

On the other hand, under the sidewalk dwellers and street nomads care programs, at least 15,000 informal settler families and street nomads will be removed and relocated away from danger areas, while others will be entrusted to the custody of the DSWD-MMDA care facilities.

The Workers Inn is a sleeping and bathing facility for urban workers whose homes are not within commuting distance from the city. This will provide relief to workers commuting daily to nearby provinces and affordable space for off-street vendors.

Metro Padyakan allocates secondary roads that interconnect the 17 cities and towns of Metro manila for the exclusive use of pedestrians and bikers.

Public Safety and Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation program is about making equipment and resources immediately available to the people in cases of fires, floods, earthquake and terrorist bombings.(bact to top)

ALL GO FOR ORGANIZED BUS ROUTE SCHEME

At long last.

After several months of painstakingly making sure that no stone is left unturned and every need is properly and promptly attended to for the full implementation of the Organized Bus Route (OBR) along EDSA, it's now all systems go for its launching this Friday (Sept. 30) at the Bagumbayan Bus Terminal at C-4 Road in Navotas.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, together with Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), as lead agency, and all Metro Mayors, will formally launch the EDSA OBR at the Navotas Terminal, considered as one of the viable solutions to help ease the traffic problem in the metropolis by efficiently managing the flow of buses along EDSA.

The OBR project is perceived to improve the operation of bus service on EDSA by controlling the headway between buses dispatched at terminals by passenger demand, and by strictly enforcing the rules on the use of public utility vehicle (PUV) lanes and loading and unloading buses.

"We, at the MMDA, never weighed the extra nights and long hours that we've put into the OBR just so we can instill discipline among PUV drivers and restore order along the entire stretch of EDSA. With controlled and unified dispatch of buses, our dream to reduce the volume of buses will now be realized," Fernando said.

At the same time, the MMDA chief pointed out, the OBR scheme affords the agency to weed out colorum and out-of-line buses from the legitimate ones.

Preparations have been underway early as late last year to ensure that the organized bus dispatch system meet its scheduled launching this month.

The MMDA has established four bus terminals and other control stations at strategic points in the Metro Manila where buses from various routes will converge and given color-coded dispatch numbers and would be dispatched sequentially on a demand and "first in-first out" basis.

Work on distribution of tags for Metro buses started last May and is more than 70 percent completed. Hundreds of MMDA personnel have started tagging buses for the OBR at the southern terminals in Baclaran, Alabang, Navotas and Robinson's Place in Novaliches.

Bus drivers, conductors and other bus personnel of various bus companies have undergone a series of meetings and seminars conducted by the MMDA to acquaint them on the rudiments of the OBR.

The OBR project has been endorsed by at least 15 Metro Mayors under MMDA Resolution No. 03-28 Series of 2003.

The President, in an earlier pronouncement, has likewise endorsed the OBR as one of her energy conservation measures to cut fuel and energy consumption in the wake of rising oil prices.

The current loading factor of a bus operating in Metro Manila with a seating capacity of 60 passengers averages to only about 35 percent per trip. With the OBR, Fernando said they expect this to double - meaning a bus will be at least 70 percent full for a one-way trip. (bact to top)

GMA TO LAUNCH METRO PADYAKAN

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority's (MMDA) Bike Lane and Walkway pilot project kicks off tomorrow morning (Sept. 24) with no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spearheading the opening of Xavierville and Katipunan avenues and other secondary streets in Quezon City to bicycle users and pedestrians.

Dubbed as "Metro Padyakan," the 3.6 -kilometer pilot bike lanes and walkways will connect EDSA with Katipunan Ave. and will provide as safe passageways for pedestrians and bikers in the city. Starting point for the launch will be at the Katipunan Ave.-Aurora Boulevards flyover across Esteban Abada St. going to other peripheral secondary routes.

President Arroyo, a staunch advocate of the walk and pedal ways as one of her energy conservation measures amidst rising oil prices, will lead other government officials and those from the private sector in opening Abada, Xavierville and Katipunan avenues to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

" Finally, we're getting on with biking as a cheaper and healthier mode of transportation and hopefully, this will reduce traffic on Metro Manila roads where roughly 1.5 million public and private vehicles pass through everyday," according to MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando.

Fernando said that while Metro Padyakan is still in its pilot stage and far from perfect, he is optimistic that the system will work, by and large, to the national interest.

Metro mayors led by Mayor Feliciano Belmonte of Quezon City, department secretaries Leandro Mendoza of Transportation and Communications, Rafael Lotilla of Energy, Michael Defensor of Environment and Natural Resources, Angelo Reyes of Interior and Local Governments, congressmen, barangay officials, leaders and members of biking organizations nationwide and other government and private luminaries, will be on hand to join the President in the launch.

MMDA workers, working round-the-clock, have cleared the sidewalks of all obstructions and have installed signages and lane markings along the bike routes. Pink and white thermoplastic paint have been used to set off bike lanes which were placed on either side of the road on some portions, and on one side in others, with ample space for vehicles.

At least 10 different routes within Quezon City, the largest city encompassing nearby cities and towns, have been identified as bike lane routes. The proposed bike routes have a total of 36.8 kilometers, approximately 18 percent of the planned 200-kilometer pedal way project in Metro Manila.

Total costs for the 200-kilometer network of pedestrian and bike lanes would entail about P362.5 million to defray the paving, painting, marking and putting up of signages in the 17 cities and municipalities of Metro Manila.(bact to top)

FERNANDO CLEARED OF CRIMINAL CHARGES

The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed for lack of probable cause and absolved Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and his traffic enforcement group (TEG) chief of criminal and administrative charges filed against them by residents of Zuzuarege, Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City in connection with the agency's sidewalk clearing operations conducted in the area last May.

In two separate 10-page resolution and decision, Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, ruled that there exists no reasonable ground to indict Fernando and TEG head Col. Philmore Balmaceda for malicious mischief because the elements that constitute such crime under Article 327 of the Revised Penal Code, such as whether the offender having deliberately caused damage to the property of another, were not obtaining in the said case.

The sidewalk clearing operation and demolition of illegal structures along Commonwealth Ave. was pursuant to Resolution No. 02-28, Series of 2002 authorizing the MMDA and the local government units to clear the sidewalks, streets and other public places in Metro Manila of all illegal structures and obstructions, Marcelo said.

"Government officials are presumed to perform their functions with regularity and strong evidence is necessary to rebut this presumption," the Ombudsman stressed.

The twin-case filed against the two MMDA officials stemmed from the Zuzuarege residents' complaint that on May 2 and 3, 2003, unidentified MMDA personnel and police officers demolished their houses at Laura St without previous consultations and notices.

The complainants averred that despite their repeated pleas to stop the demolition as there were previous arrangements with the public works and highways department and National Housing Authority for their possible relocation, the said MMDA personnel and police officers went on with their operations.

In the same resolution dismissing the said criminal case, Marcelo said that the claim of the Zuzuarege residents that the demolition of their houses was in violation of R.A. 7229 or the Urban Development and Housing Act, and thus illegal, cannot be considered citing that what were actually demolished by the members of the MMDA sidewalk clearing operations group (SCOG) were commercial establishments and stalls and not residential houses.

The commercial establishments and stalls of the complainants constitute public nuances and nuisances per se which can therefore be summarily abated without prior notice or consultation, hence no violation of R.A. 7279 has been committed, Marcelo added.

In the case of Balmaceda, Fernando's co-respondent in the case, the Ombudsman said the TEG head and his men did not actually participate in the sidewalk clearing operation and demolition of structures but merely secured the safety of the SCOG and directed traffic in the area.

On the other hand, Ombudsman Marcelo, in his decision absolving the two MMDA officials of the charge of misconduct, said that a careful study of records on hand revealed that no substantial evidence exists to hold both Fernando and Balmaceda administratively liable.

Invoking an earlier Supreme court ruling that the use by private individuals of sidewalks and other public places constitute public nuisance and the MMDA's mandate under R.A.7924 to set policies and regulate the implementation traffic management and public safety programs, Marcelo reiterated that it is the duty and responsibility of Fernando to ensure that such public places in Metro Manila are free from all forms of illegal structures. (bact to top)

MMDA TAKES OVER EDSA PASAY CITY TRAFFIC

Traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) are set to take over shortly traffic management of the Pasay City section of EDSA to restore order along this major thoroughfare.

This was announced today by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando who said that the agency's traffic enforcers will relieve their counterpart "Chocolate Boys" of Pasay City from manning traffic along EDSA, particularly at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) in Taft Ave. due to mounting complaints from motorists and pedestrians of traffic breakdown in the said areas recently.

Fernando said reports reaching his office said that undisciplined public utility drivers have been blatantly disregarding traffic signs and traffic lights and hordes of jeepneys and mini-buses dawdle at the MRT and EDSA thereby causing monstrous traffic jams in the city. These drivers have virtually transformed the MRT area as a jeepney and mini-bus terminal, he added.

"I cannot but be concerned to see drivers so brazen in violating traffic laws. Everyday that passes that we do nothing or even lift a finger to ease traffic in the area, we are actually consigning thousands of our people to chaos," he said.

The MMDA chief bewailed the fact that the agency has been getting the flak from certain sectors for its seemingly impotence to curb the traffic congestion problem in Pasay.

Fernando said his traffic czars will sit down shortly with their counterparts in Pasay to thresh out the problem before MMDA enforcers take over the city's EDSA section and other major thoroughfares.

" We will likely request the city government to reassign their Chocolate Boys to the city's secondary streets," he said.

The Chocolate Boys have been manning traffic along EDSA and other major streets after the local government of Pasay came up with its own separate sets of traffic regulations which observers said run counter to the express mandate of the MMDA that the power to install and administer a single ticketing system, fix, impose and collect fines for traffic violations belongs to the latter.(bact to top)

"Enough is enough."

Seemingly exasperated over the "Chocolate Boys" meddling with the traffic affairs of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) which he said has resulted in the breakdown of traffic along EDSA in Pasay City recently, Chairman Bayani Fernando said that the agency's traffic enforcers in blue will now recoup its lost turf to restore order in the area.

Fernando, speaking in his weekly "MMDA sa GMA" radio program, said over the weekend that the days of the Chocolate Boys or Pasay City's traffic enforcers in brown uniforms in EDSA are numbered due to their alleged ineptness to handle the traffic situation there, particularly under the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).

The MMDA chief said the agency has been swamped with complaints from motorists and pedestrians that traffic along EDSA has gone from bad to worse due to the alleged failure of the Chocolate Boys to make jeepney and mini-bus drivers obey traffic laws at the MRT area.

" Undisciplined PUV drivers are so brazen in violating traffic laws. Hordes of jeepneys and mini-buses dawdle at the MRT area and EDSA rotunda to wait for passengers," Fernando said.

In the same vein, he said that the MMDA has been getting the flak from various sectors due to the inadequacies of the Chocolate Boys in handling the traffic situation in Pasay City.

It can be recalled that the MMDA allowed the Chocolate Boys to beef up the number of traffic enforcers in the area when the local government of Pasay came up with its own separate sets of traffic regulations.(bact to top)

Illegal sidewalk vendors dread these men so much. But not this hold-up victim.

Combined operatives of the sidewalk clearing operations group (SCOG) of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Philippine Army caught Monday morning (Aug. 29) two suspected hold-up men and believed to be leaders of the notorious "Chess gang" after their victim hollered for help in EDSA, near Monte de Piedad St. in Cubao, Quezon City.

In a report furnished the office of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, SCOG head Roberto Esquivel said Raymond Basale, an employee, was only an onlooker in a sidewalk chess game being played by suspects Ferdinand Sevillano and Gil Flores when they held up their victim of his cellular phone and wallet.

Upon being divested of his cellphone and wallet, Bernale shouted for help and a commotion ensued. This caught the attention of the four-man SCOG Task Force members who were at their outpost nearby and who immediately gave chase to the fleeing suspects.

Bernale's cellphone and wallet containing a still undetermined amount of money were recovered from the suspects. Esquivel identified the SCOG members and back-up security as TSG Samuel Villegas, TSG Alberto Lamorena, Sgt. Junifer Neron and PFC Ferdinand Mariano.

Both Sevillano and Flores are now under police custody and a bail of P100,000 has been recommended for their provisional release.

Also in his report, Esquivel said that the nefarious activities of the Chess gang preying on onlookers of their sidewalk chess games have been put to an end with the arrest of Sevillano and Flores. They (Chess gang), besides illegal vendors, have been obstructing the flow of pedestrian traffic in Cubao, he added.(bact to top)

ALL SYSTEM GO FOR THE ORGANIZED BUS ROUTE SCHEME

It's all systems go for the Organized Bus Route (OBR) scheme which the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) believes will help ease the traffic problem along EDSA.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando today announced that the agency is set to implement the OBR system next week following the unanimous approval of bus operators and other concerned sectors who likewise believe that they will benefit from the scheme. In a dialogue yesterday with leaders of various bus operators associations in Metro Manila, Fernando explained that with the controlled and unified dispatch of buses from terminals to loading stations, bus companies are assured of almost double earnings due to a dramatic increase in loading factor from the current 55 percent to 85 percent. During the dialogue, the bus operators expressed satisfaction over the MMDA chair's thorough explanation to them of the rudiments of the scheme particularly noting that the OBR was primarily conceived to improve the operation of bus service along EDSA and will also mean less fuel consumption for buses. Operations personnel of various bus companies will sit down with MMDA officials this Saturday to thresh out the mechanics of the scheme. Under the OBR system, terminals have been set up at destination end-points and sequential dispatch of buses shall be based on demand and on a "first in-first out" basis from terminals. Tamper-proof and color-coded dispatch numbers will be provided for an orderly dispatch of buses at the terminals and at control stations along EDSA where buses from various routes converge.

Fernando is optimistic that better results will be seen barely few months after the OBR's implementation next week. August 3, 2005 (back to top)

BF emerge anew at the top according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has every reason to smile nowadays.

Despite obstacles being thrown his way for every well-meaning effort that he takes, Fernando’s popularity could no longer be denied. And this too despite the political crisis besetting the nation today brought about by the “Garci” tapes.

According to the latest Pulse Asia survey, Fernando has emerged anew at the top among President Arroyo’s Cabinet members as the most popular and most loved by the public.

Pulse Asia, in a random survey conducted from October 2004 to July 2005, said Fernando topped ten other government officials with the highest approval rating of 37 percent.

The same survey among 1,200 respondents of Filipinos, mostly residents of Metro Manila, appreciate the many projects initiated by the MMDA Chairman from centralizing collection of garbage and managing traffic to overseeing maintenance of the metropolis’ sewers.

Coming in close second among Cabinet members in the approval survey was former Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman (33 percent approval, followed by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (28 percent), PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao (27 percent), DILG Secretary Angelo Reyes (26 percent), DEPED former Secretary Florencio Abad (25 percent), former Department of Agriculture secretary Arthur Yap (24 percent), AFP Chief of staff Efren Abu (22 percent), Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano (19 percent), former BIR Commissioner Guillermo Paarayno Jr. (18 percent), and Defense secretary Avelino Cruz (15 percent).

The MMDA also got the sixth highest approval rating of 37 percent of the 16 other sub-Cabinet agencies included in the survey.

Ecstatic over the survey, Fernando said he owes such popularity to his workforce in the MMDA who he said “not just walk, but half-run and with a true sense of urgency as public servants.”

It can be recalled that Fernando bested other 10 Cabinet members as the most performing government official in Pulse Asia’s March 2005 “Ulat ng Bayan” survey. July 29, 2005 (bact to top)

Eviction of some 1,000 squatter families from a "dead -end" portion of a road in Portrero, Malabon

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today clarified that the government is constrained to evict some 1,000 squatter families from a "dead -end" portion of a road in Portrero, Malabon to pave the way for the widening of the MacArthur Highway.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando issued the clarification following news reports that seemingly put the MMDA in a bad light when it started to demolish some houses at Orange and Avocado streets in barangay Portrero last week.

Fernando said there's no recourse but to demolish the shanties of the affected families in Portero because of the impending rehabilitation of the MacArthur Highway as a viable alternative route to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

" We, in government, are here, first and foremost, to take decisive action on every setback that we face, and as the peoples' advocate for efficient and responsive governance," he said adding that the expansion of the MacArthur Highway will redound to the benefit of the greater majority of people.

"Hindi ako maaring makiiyak sa mahihirap sapagkat kung bulag sa luha ang aking mga mata, sino pa ang aakay sa kanila, ( I cannot cry with the poor because if my tears blind me, who then will guide them), the MMDA chair lamented.

The MMDA crew had stopped the demolition after Malabon City Mayor Canuto Oreta took up the cudgels for the squatter families that ensued in a 15-day moratorium signed between the former and the affected residents. The moratorium will lapse next Monday (July 4).

The rehabilitation of the MacArthur Highway or "Project Balik MacArthur" is an inter-agency undertaking by the Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC) together with the private sector and non-governmental organizations. It is tasked with putting in place engineering and non-engineering interventions that would alleviate traffic-related problems along MacArthur Highway to make it a viable alternative route, among other things.

Traffic has diverted from the NLEX to the MacArthur Highway since the former started implementing its increased toll rates recently. The shift in traffic has caused severe traffic congestion in some parts of the highway traversing commercial areas and public markets and pedestrian and vehicular accidents

Project Balik MacArthur also forms part of the MMDA's "Seven Major Roads" program, an integrated infrastructure development program focusing government resources in the improvement of seven major transport corridors, namely ; Commonwealth Ave., R10, C5, EDSA, Quezon Ave., and Marcos Highway.

Improvement of these seven major roads includes road widening, geometric improvements, sidewalk rehabilitation and various street furniture.June 29, 2005 (back to top)

Bad news for motorists and cellular phone users

Here's bad news for motorists and cellular phone users who have yet to buy their own hands-free headset devices.

In a bid to intensify its drive to promote public safety on main thoroughfares and streets, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is considering reviving another old traffic law banning the use of cellular phones and handset radios while driving a motor vehicle in the metropolis.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said it's high time to strictly enforce nowadays a Metro Manila Council - approved MMDA Regulation No. 97-001 in the wake of mounting traffic and road accidents attributed partly to drivers using mobile phones and handset radios while driving.

Fernando said it has now become exigent to regulate the usage of cellular phones and other similar devices while driving because he said a driver loses the required full concentration while operating a motor vehicle.

"Here and there you see drivers, particularly private car owners and taxi drivers, doing this while driving. This certainly poses hazards not only to the motorist but to the passengers and the pedestrians as well because the driver has to use one of his hands to hold the cell unit and the other to tinker with its buttons rather than focus his eyesight on the road," he said.

He said that the driver also tends not to understand, interpret and obey road signs properly while doing such neglectful practice.

Violators of the said MMDA traffic rule, which applies to all city and municipal roads of Metro Manila, are penalized with a fine of P200 per offense. June 16, 2005 (back to top)

27 MMDA Enforcers Face Suspension And Dismissal

At least 27 traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) face suspension and dismissal from the service for abandoning their posts at the height of a heavy downpour along Aurora Blvd. and its peripheral roads in Quezon City late afternoon last June 4. With no traffic enforcers in sight, the traffic situation broke down along EDSA and Aurora Blvd., Arayat, P. Tuazon, McArthur north-bound, Farmers' Market and Baliwag terminal, all in Cubao. The following day, news reports of the traffic breakdown were all over. MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando has ordered his Traffic Operations Center (TOC) chief Angelito Vergel de Dios to slap the 27 traffic aides with dereliction of duty and insubordination charges following a random inspection by their superiors on that rainy day that they were nowhere in sight and might have sought shelter from the rain elsewhere.

Fernando said there's no excuse for the 27 to abandon their posts in spite of the heavy rains because he said they are adequately provided with protective raincoats, boots and even Vitamin C supplements.

" I have always maintained that being remiss on duty has no place in MMDA. Our gains, especially in traffic management, are hard-earned and we wouldn't want to erode the public's trust and confidence in us," Fernando said.

TOC records showed that three of the 27 enforcers have been recommended for dismissal because they have been found to be recidivists and are holders only of job order status of employment. The rest have been recommended for suspension pending the resolution of administrative charges filed against them.

Antonio Pagulayan, TOC head for roadside arbitration and personnel inspection, the said 27 have been summoned to shed light on the June 4 incident but the said notice went unheeded, hence, the insubordination charges also filed against them.

In the past previous months, the TOC has been cleansing the ranks of its enforcers and have either suspended or terminated several hundreds for infractions ranging from not wearing proper uniform and engaging in unnecessary conversation with co-enforcers to absence without leave and extortion. June 2, 2005 (back to to top)

The "Bayani Fernando" Phenomenon

There's a new phenomenon sweeping across primary schools and even fast catching in households in Metro Manila nowadays.

It's called the " Bayani Fernando" phenomenon (referring to Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Brian Alavar, an 11-year old Grade V pupil of Padre Zamora Elementary School in Pasay City, related to MMDA officials and employees how he was able to hurdle the first impromptu quiz administered to them by their Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika (HEKASI) teacher on the first day of classes last June 6.

The unidentified HEKASI teacher reportedly wanted to know if her pupils had spent wisely their previous two-month summer vacation by testing their awareness on current events. The question was : "Name as many Cabinet members as you can in the Arroyo administration especially the current DepEd Secretary."

Alavar said that except for DepEd Secretary Butch Abad whom he failed to mention, he fared out well in the exam because he was able to name at least three Cabinet secretaries and their respective departments, Fernando included.

On the other hand, Alavar continued that his classmates flunked the test because they were only able to list down Bayani Fernando as President Arroyo's underling.

In the same vein, the "Bayani Fernando" syndrome has reportedly become a household by-word in many communities in the metropolis. Reports reaching the office of Fernando said that mothers would lash out "Ayan na si Bayani Fernando" whenever their children tend to misbehave or throw away garbage indiscriminately.

Reacting to this, Fernando said he is humbled by this so-called phenomenon even as he cited that he is equally flattered by the surge of text-in messages from people from all walks of life that he is one of the most credible officials in government today. These, he said, have become regular staples in newspapers lately.

"Hand in hand with those praises, I had endured the brickbats being thrown my way for every well-meaning effort that we take," he stressed adding that it has dawned on him that this is part and parcel of public office.

He clarified, though, that the same phenomenon has been observed before in Marikina which he said he had transformed from a disheveled city to an orderly and bigger Marikina that it is today.

" As mayor of Marikina, I wasted no time to wage a war on the minds and habits of residents to educate them on the benefits they stand to gain for leading a disciplined and orderly life," he pointed out. June 20, 2005 (back to top)

Prohibiting passengers from hitching or hanging on to the rear end of jeepneys.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is considering resuscitating an old traffic law prohibiting passengers from hitching or hanging on to the rear end of jeepneys to promote public safety and prevent road accidents.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said it's very timely this school opening to revive RA 4136, otherwise known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, and MMDA Regulation No 04-005 which jointly prohibit any passenger from hitching or hanging on to the rear side of any public utility vehicle because he said such practice poses grave danger to the life and limb not only of the riding public but also to the motorists as well.

" Everywhere you see jeepneys and other public utility vehicles over- cramped with passengers while others are riding on the outside of the vehicle in utter disregard of the law," he said.

Fernando also pointed out that snatchers, pickpockets and hold-uppers, under the guise as “sabit” passengers, prey on their victims in overloaded jeepneys.

Fernando said that even drivers who knowingly allow such practice are not beyond reproach. He explained that drivers caught packing their vehicles to the hilt will be meted with a P500 fine and P150 each for the passenger and hitcher.

The Traffic Code defines a hitcher as a person holding on to a moving vehicle while riding on a bicycle, roller skate, skateboard or other similar device.

The MMDA chair also said it's high time to discipline unscrupulous jeepney drivers who deliberately overload their vehicles with passengers just so they could double their earnings. June 14, 2005 (back to top)

Transport terminal, pedestrian footbridge, and loading and unloading bays will soon rise

Dubbed as the "North Road-Rail Station-Phase 2 (NRRS2), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will start constructing the said infrastructure in July this year and is expected to be completed early next year, according to MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) will be signed today between the MMDA and the New San Jose Builder's, Inc., a private developer, firming up linkages between the two parties and other government agencies concerned for the NRRS2 jump-off.

Fernando said project costs for NRRS2 would entail at least P25 million local funding from the MMDA in line with Executive Order No. 179 which authorizes the agency to establish the Greater Manila Mass Transport System (GMMTS).

Construction of the NRRS2 is fully supported by a Resolution No. 03-07 from the Metro Manila Council (MMC), the policy-making body of the MMDA, enacted two years ago, he said.

” I trust that in living the concept of working as a team, my colleagues in the MMC will always see the MMDA as a partner in the grand search for the best formula to manage traffic in the metropolis," enthused the MMDA chief.

Engineer Ramon Ona, head of MMDA's Traffic Engineering Center, said NRRS2 will be patterned after the existing MRT Ayala Station in Makati.

Under the proposed MOA, the MMDA will undertake the construction of an inter-modal transport terminal, pedestrian footbridge, opening of the AGHAM-EDSA link road that will require the clearing of some 50 squatter families by the private developer, balling or transfer of trees within the site, removal of three Hi-dessert waiting sheds along EDSA and the relocation of Meralco posts. May 27, 2005 (back to top)

SUPREME COURT CLARIFIES ITS EARLIER RULING

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has every reason to smile nowadays.

The Supreme Court today clarified that its earlier ruling on the power of the MMDA to confiscate drivers' licenses did not necessarily strip the agency of its law enforcement functions in the fourteen cities and 3 towns of the metropolis. Supreme Court Senior Chief Staff Officer Gleo Guerra, in a letter, explained that the Second Division's 18-page decision last April 15 actually held that the said issue in the case had in fact been mooted with the MMDA's adoption last year of the Metropolitan Traffic Ticket (MTT) scheme under Memorandum Circular No. 04 which no longer confiscates drivers' licenses. Reacting to this development, Fernando said "We are just doing our duties in compliance with our mandate, If there's anybody who has been victimized by all these events, it's public servants like me who are only armed with good faith." Memorandum Circular No. 04 outlined the procedures for the use of the MTT without need of confiscating drivers' licenses for traffic violations. Under the procedures, a traffic violator is issued an MTT by traffic enforcers for a penalty that can be paid with any Metrobank branch. Guerra pointed out that what the Highest Tribunal actually held was the MMDA was only unauthorized to confiscate drivers' licenses in the absence of a valid law, ordinance, or regulation arising from a legitimate source. He stressed that the said SC ruling explicitly states that "where there is a traffic law or regulation enacted by the legislature or those agencies to whom legislative powers have been delegated, the petitioner (MMDA) is not precluded and is fact duty-bound to confiscate and suspend or revoke drivers' licenses in the exercise of its mandate of transport and traffic management." Hence, Guerra emphasized that "indeed, the Court stated that Sec. 5 (f) of the MMDA Charter or R.A. 7924 creating the agency imposes on the latter the duty to enforce existing traffic rules and regulations."

The case against the MMDA stemmed from a suit filed before the Paranaque RTC in 1995 by lawyer Dante Garin whose driver's license was confiscated for illegal parking. Garin claimed he was not given the opportunity to be heard.

Ruling in favor of Garin, the trial court said that the summary confiscation of drivers' licenses for traffic violations violates due process. April 29, 2005 (back to top)

MMDA CLARIFIES THE SUPREME COURT RULING

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today clarified that the Supreme Court ruling on confiscation of drivers' license and the use of traffic violation receipts affirms the agency's function to enforce all traffic laws and rules in the four cities and 13 towns of Metro Manila.

MMDA Chairman issued the clarification in the wake of the much brouhaha over the promulgation of the Supreme Court ruling last April 21 reportedly clipping the MMDA's power to confiscate drivers' license and the use of the Mertropolitan Traffic Ticket (MTT).Fernando said that contrary to earlier reports, the issue on confiscation of license has been rendered moot and academic by the implementation of Memorandum Circular No. 04, otherwise known as the MTT, based on the authority of the MMDA to do so under Section 5 (f) of R. A. 7924, the law creating the agency.Under the MTT scheme, drivers' licenses of erring ,motorists are no longer confiscated but instead issued MTT with fines and penalties to be paid at any Metrobank branches.,The MMDA chair explained that said decision clearly states that "the MMDA is not precluded, and in fact, is duty-bound to confiscate and suspend or revoke drivers' licenses in the exercise of its mandate to supervise transport and traffic management, especially where there is a traffic law or regulation validly enacted by the legislature or those agencies to whom legislative powers have been delegated."Fernando stressed that the same SC decision emphatically declared that the MMDA has the sole authority to enforce all traffic rules and regulations, as well as ordinances in the metropolis."Clearly, it is the MMDA which is vested with the authority to enforce and implement the same and not the cities and municipalities," he said.Mr. Fernando pointed out that the Supreme Court's ruling that the MMDA does not have police power to confiscate drivers' license or issue MTTs should not be misconstrued as the "power of the police officer to apprehend."

He explained that the Tribunal defines police power as "the power vested by the Constitution in the legislature to make, ordain and establish all manner of wholesome and reasonable laws, statutes and ordinances, either with penalties or without, not repugnant to the Constitution as they shall judge to be for the good and welfare of the commonwealth."

Hence, he said that by virtue of R.A, 7924 which created the MMDA, the government agency is solely authorized and mandated to enforce all existing traffic laws and ordinances in the entire metropolis, including the authority to deputize traffic enforcers. April 28, 2005 (back to top)

FALSE, COLORED AND PLAINLY VICIOUS

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today described as "false, colored and plainly vicious" earlier statements attributed to Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay that the MMDA has been hiring former military men for its sidewalk clearing operations.

Fernando said that contrary to claims of Binay, the MMDA never set as base for hiring personnel ex-military men for its sidewalk clearing operations group (SCOG)."Some of our SCOG men may be tough, lack proper education and decent breeding. But they are only a perfect match against equally tough law breakers. They have grown accustomed to the tough neighborhood where they work. And they (law breakers like illegal vendors and drivers) could not be expected to yield their ground using gentle mode of persuasion, these toughies mean to inflict harm on anybody who gets in their way."The MMDA chair is reacting to media statements by Binay calling on the former to suspend all MMDA operations and seeking explanation over the alleged agency's hiring of former military men to conduct its sidewalk clearing operations. He bewailed the fact that some sectors are openly fighting him for some strange reasons when, he said, they are supposed to be on the same side of law and order. " We are making them (law breakers) obey the laws and rules. They have been so used to other namby-pamby public officials who would rather look the other way than make the effort to enforce the law, so that they now feel constricted by us who do our duty that we have taken an oath to do," he said."For they(unruly drivers and illegal vendors) do not want to obey the law. They think they're above the law. They want to do their own thing in the streets, and to hell with the law," Fernando continued.In the same vein, Fernando pointed out that last Thursday's shooting incident in Quirino Ave. in Manila is "behind us already." Investigation of the case is in the hands of police authorities. We are awaiting the outcome of the investigation," he stressed.He assured the public, however, that he will dismiss abusive SCOG members found to have used excessive force in carrying out their duties.Reacting to Binay's call to suspend MMDA operations in Metro Manila, Fernando said "You cannot just stop the operations of an agency, or the MMDA for that matter, as there are laws authorizing it to operate. I believe we have achieved the most to impose discipline in the streets, clears the sidewalks and streets of obstructions and make the metropolis a better place to live in," he said."Every day that passes that we do nothing or worse, leave Metro Manila dirty and there's anarchy, chaos and traffic congestion in the streets, is actually consigning hundreds of thousands of our people to harm's way," he said."If there's anybody who has been victimized by all these events, it's public servants like me who are only armed with their good faith," he added. April 27, 2005 (back to top)

ROXAS BLVD. TO UNDERGO A MAJOR FACELIFT

Roxas Blvd. will soon undergo a major facelift to recoup its old glory as the famous promenade in Manila , according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the entire 11-kilometer stretch of Roxas Blvd, from Anda Circle in Intramuros to Airport Road in Paranaque will be rehabilitated shortly by maximizing the full use of the avenue, sidewalks and public facilties in the area and undertaking massive and relentless clearing of all kinds of illegal structures and obstructions.

Apart from its historical significance as one of the vestiges of post World War II's waterfront development, Roxas Blvd (formerly Dewey Blvd.) is used to be considered as a tourist destination with an enhanced seascape, a promenade, leisure and recreation paradise, and home to monuments and landmarks, including the Luneta Park, US embassy, first-class hotels, offices and fine-dining restaurants.

Fernando bewailed the fact that if the area is left unattended, "it will continue to deterirate and becomes a glaring example of urban decay."

The project entails a more than P83-million loan facility from the World Bank and involves the conversion of vacant lots into parking areas after prior clearing of obstructions, squatters and illegal structures. Side streets surrounding the boulevard will be opened to traffic and lit up at night to ensure the safety of motorists and the promenading public.

It also involves landscaping, rehabilitation of sidewalks and roads, construction of pedestrian walkways, restore damaged drainage covers and improvement of existing structures to adopt the character of Roxas Blvd.

The MMDA chair assured that the rehabilitation of Roxas Blvd. will ensure the smoother flow of traffic in the area and safety and convenience for pedestrians.

Initially, the MMDA Construction and Equipment Maintenance Office under Architect Alfonso Romero, will start sprucing up T. M. Kalaw St. on Roxas Blvd anytime now.

Fernando added that after the completion of the project, residents and owners of business establishments in the area will be tasked to maintain the cleanliness and beautification of the boulevard. April 19, 2005 (back to top)

HUNDREDS OF TRAFFIC ENFORCES TO BE MOBILIZED TO CRITICAL AREAS

Hundreds of traffic enforcers will be mobilized tomorrow to critical areas and routes leading to bus terminals, ports and harbors in anticipation of the heavy outflow of commuters trekking to the provinces this Holy Week.
Even as this developed, General Manager Robert Nacianceno of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced that the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, also known as the number coding system, will be lifted effective this Holy Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
The primary task of the enforcers, among other things, is to see to it that the riding public, especially the disabled, will have easy access to the public transport system.
They are also tasked to control traffic in peripheral areas of terminals and respond accordingly to any given exigency on the road.

“Each traffic enforcer will be equipped with hand-held radios to ensure commuters and travelers of an almost ha