December 24, 2009

Metro Residents Advised to Observe Proper Waste Disposal This Holiday Season

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday reminded Metro residents to strictly observe proper waste disposal and segregation scheme as it expect a surge in garbage volume in the metropolis this Holiday season.

“We appeal to the public to adhere to the door-to-door garbage collection scheme and segregate their waste so that we will have a garbage-free celebration of Christmas,” MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno said.

Nacianceno also urged residents to bring their garbage on the time designated for pick-up by garbage trucks to prevent stray animals from picking on it.

“Residents should also take out their garbage and hand it to collectors when they hear the garbage truck bell on collection days,” the official said.

Aside from being eyesores, piles of waste materials, emit foul stench and attract flies, cockroaches, mosquito and other disease-carrying insects which pose tremendous risk to public health.

Under the door-to-door garbage collection program, residents are asked to wait for garbage collectors before putting out their garbage. They are urged not to simply leave them on the sidewalk.

According to Nacianceno the MMDA has already made the proper coordination with the local government units (LGU) who are responsible for garbage collection and disposal even as he also called on garbage collectors to make extra efforts in collecting waste even during the holidays.
“That’s one of the problems here since sometimes, garbage collectors take a few days-off during the holiday,” the official said adding that garbage collectors contracted by LGU should ensure that their personnel are on hand to prevent garbage build-up.

Garbage collection is the prime responsibility of LGU while the monitors the main roads, inner streets, sidewalks, road shoulders and other areas in the metropolis and informs the concerned LGU’s if trash and waste materials are piling up in their jurisdiction.

The MMDA also provides assistance in clearing obstructions in local roads that the LGUs are unable to remove.

Earlier, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando asked garbage collectors to pick up trash on a house-to-house basis so households would not dump it in collection points.

“We are discouraging the designation of collection points as discarded plastic bags make their way to the sewers and drainage systems, causing unnecessary flooding especially during the rainy season,” Fernando said.

Of the 1,694 barangays in Metro Manila, about 485 are not accessible to garbage trucks. Households in these communities usually dump their trash in collection points by the roadside.
Metro Manila generates some 8,000 metric tons of wastes on a daily basis though authorities said not all of these are collected and brought to designated landfills.

The MMDA is utilizing four sanitary landfills which includes aside from the Rodriguez, Rizal facility, Payatas in Quezon City; Clark in Pampanga, Navotas, and San Pedro in Laguna. (back to top)

December 24, 2008

MMDA Opens Abucay Pumping Station Manila

Flooding in Manila’s Sampaloc district will be significantly reduced by early next year with the opening of the newest water pumping station of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) at Abucay Street in Tondo.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday that the Abucay pumping station, whose construction was completed recently, will be fully operational by May 2009, in time for the opening of classes on June.

The Abucay facility is located along Abucay Street in Tondo, adjacent to the Estero de Maypajo. “With our Abucay pumping station, we expect to lessen the flooding along Espana, Dimasalang, and the whole Sampaloc area,” Fernando sid.
The newly-built floodwater pumping facility is the MMDA’s continuing response to the perennially flooded Sampaloc area, a 7.90 square kilometer residential and educational center of Manila.
Aside from Espana Boulevard, the pumping station will also service Dapitan, Laong-Laan, and Dimasalang streets, the main thoroughfares in Sampaloc area, including Morayta and Recto streets in the University Belt, according to Flood Control Management Office (FCMO) chief Baltazar Melgar.

The Abucay station will act as receptacle of floodwaters that pass through the 2.9-kilometer Blumentritt Interceptor, a series of culverts that collect floodwaters coming from Quezon City. It will also control the overflowing of Estero de Maypajo during heavy rains, Melgar said.
Melgar said the interceptor has not been working properly since it could no longer accommodate the volume of floodwaters, particularly during rainy season.

First conceptualized in October 2007, the Abucay pumping station was built at the cost of P80 million, which include the purchase of a 630-hectare private lot where the facility now stood. The pumping station has three axial-type pumps, each of which has a capacity of 2.0 cubic meters per second, much faster than the old pumping stations being operated by the MMDA. Earlier, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando cited figures from the MMDA Flood Control and Sewerage Office, showing that the agency has made great strides in flood-control efforts since 2002 when flood control programs and sewage management were turned over from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Previously, there had been massive areas in Metro Manila that used to be under water during heavy downpour, with 7,262 hectares of land flooded in 2003. It was, however, cut down to just 6,700 hectares in the following year.

Before the implementation of flood control programs have been given to
the MMDA, a total of 13,100 hectares, equivalent to five cities had been flood- prone.

Also because of the continuous implementation of such programs, Fernando said many streets and roads in Metro Manila which have been usually impassable during heavy rains are now accessible to most vehicles.

From 2002 to 2005, with a 40 mm/hr of rainfall volume, about two to three kilometers of roads were not passable but in the succeeding years, these areas have been passable to motor vehicles.

For the same period, more or less 20 kilometers of road had been rendered inaccessible with 60 mm/hr of rainfall intensity, compared to a kilometer of impassable stretch of road in 2005 and 2006 with the same volume of rainfall.

With a 100 mm/hr of rainfall in 2003 and 2004, some 30 to 40 kilometers had been impassable, which have been reduced to only 6 to 8 kilometers of inaccessible roads in 2005 and 2007.

Aside from these physical improvements, Fernando said the agency has also been conducting a year-round clean-up of waterways, canals and gutters as part of their anti-flood control efforts.

An information campaign has also been mounted with the help of local government units and non-government organizations especially for those who are living near waterways and other areas classified as “danger-zones” or flood-prone.

Fernando said informal settlers or “squatters” living near waterways is the major culprit that aggravates flooding due to their lack of discipline when it comes to garbage disposal. (back to top)

December 20, 2008

MMDA Welcomes SC Ruling On The Implementation of Flood Control Programs

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday welcomed a recent ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) mandating the agency to take the lead in implementing flood control programs and the removal of illegal structures along waterways in the metropolis as an affirmation of their mandate.
“The MMDA welcomed the Supreme Court’s mandamus as an imprimatur to our relentless efforts to clear the waterways of obstructions that impede the flow of water and cause flooding in several parts of Metro Manila,” MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said.
At the same time, Fernando said the order “puts more teeth to our efforts to carry out our mandate without hindrance in the wake of court suits and temporary restraining orders issued against us whenever we conduct clearing and removal of shanties along waterways and public open spaces which are all considered as danger zones.”
The MMDA chief said that the agency has been doing everything to fulfill its mandate despite the brickbats and criticism thrown its way adding that cases filed against them will only serve to strengthen their resolve to solve flooding and other problems in the metropolis.
In a unanimous decision penned by Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. the High Court ordered government agencies to clean-up Manila Bay.
The ruling specifically cited the MMDA as the “lead agency and implementor of programs in Metro Manila to dismantle, and remove all structures, constructions, and other encroachments established or built in violation of Republic 7279, and other applicable laws along Pasig-Marikina-San Juan Rivers, the NCR (Paranaque-Zapote, Las Pinas Rivers, the Navotas-Malabon-Tullahan-Tenejeros Rivers, and connecting waterways and esteros in Metro Manila).
The SC ruling also tasked the MMDA to “establish, operate and maintain a sanitary landfill within a period of one year from finality of this decision. It is also ordered to cause the apprehension and filing of the appropriate criminal cases against violators of the respective penal provisions of Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003), the Clean Water Act (RA9275) and other existing laws on pollution.
Earlier, Fernando vowed to get tough with informal settlers saying that the MMDA has already set in motion plans to remove the 75, 000 squatter families in Metro Manila in coordination with local government units and the National Housing Authority (NHA).
The agency has already removed some 3, 000 shanties located along the San Juan River as part of its flood-control efforts.
The official said that it is not the work of the MMDA to find a resettlement site for the informal settlers though he added they are coordinating with various government agencies to cushion the impact on the affected residents.
“The job of finding a suitable resettlement or relocation sites for them is the mandate of Vice President Noli De Castro and the National Housing Authority. Ideally, relocation sites should be provided to the displaced families by these two,” he added.

Fernando currently chairs the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee (MMIAC) on the provision of shelters for informal settlers. At the rate the committee members which include the NHA, MMDA, CBCP, urban poor groups and others from the government and the private sector have been deliberating and formulating policies to address the problem, particularly on providing for relocation sites, the NHA and De Castro’s office haven’t lifted a finger, he said.
At the same time, Fernando batted for a massive information campaign to educate the public on proper waste disposal and waste segregation among others.
The official stressed that one of the primary factors of flooding are the clogged drainage systems arising from improper garbage disposal.
Metro Manila generates some 8, 000 metric tons of wastes on a daily basis and authorities said not all of these are collected and brought to designated landfills.
Fernando likewise called on his critics to avoid finger-pointing and playing the blame-game saying it will not get us anywhere in finding a solution to the problem.
"Everyone marvels at the transformation of Marikina into a model city but it was not only order and discipline that made Marikina into what it is today. There was a change of heart, mind and attitude among the people of Marikina who shared the vision of their local government leaders to turn the city into a clean, orderly and environment-friendly habitat," said Fernando.
Fernando cited the ongoing efforts by the MMDA and other Metro LGU’s to make Marikina River of recreational quality by December 2009 as prime example of getting things done without resorting to recrimination and finger-pointing.
“By Dec. next year, 80 percent of Metro Manilans will smell and have a taste of clean water along the Marikina River. They can go boating and hold picnics along the river shores. Marikina River flows along Montalban, Quezon City, Pasig and Marikina,” he said of the ongoing program.
In a related development, Fernando called on local government units to implement an effective door-to-door garbage collection in response to the SC’s order for the agency to establish and operate a sanitary landfill.
“There are already existing landfills for an orderly disposal of waste. However, Metro local government units have been remiss in implementing an efficient door-to-door garbage collection system,” he said.
The MMDA is utilizing four sanitary landfills which includes aside from the Rodriguez, Rizal facility, Payatas in Quezon City; Clark in Pampanga, Navotas, and San Pedro in Laguna.
As to establishments without septic tanks that line the shores of the rivers and are primary contributors to water pollution, Fernando said local building officials should stop issuing permits indiscriminately and monitor compliance with the National Building Code.
“There are numerous houses, business establishments and fast-food chains which don’t have septic tanks or grease traps thereby allowing waste materials to flow directly into the rivers. But this job should not have been the work of the MMDA but rather the local government units especially the building and health and sanitary officials,” he added.(back to top)

December 16, 2008

MMDA's Soil Recycling Program Offers A Fee For Your Excess Gravel And Sand

Unable to dispose your excess construction materials such as gravel and sand? Sell it to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for extra bucks.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando announced yesterday that they have set up three buying centers where the public could bring and sell their waste soil aggregates through the agency’s soil recycling program.

These are located under the flyovers of Edsa-Kamuning, Aurora-Katipunan, and Tandang Sora-Commonwealth Avenue, according to Fernando.

“We now have initial three buying centers and we’re planning to put up more so the people would be encouraged to bring in their refuse gravel and sand,” the MMDA chief said.
Introduced only last month, the MMDA’s soil recycling program has been conceived to provide extra livelihood opportunities for the poor while at the same time reinforce the agency’s environmental cleanliness projects.

Fernando said heaps of excess construction debris and filling materials are commonplace in Metro Manila’s streets, which, aside from being an eyesore, also obstructs the free flow of traffic, and usually ends up in drainages that results to clogging and flooding.
Aside from gravel and sand, the MMDA buying centers will also accept concrete litters, such as damaged hollow blocks and bits of rocks that could be filtered and reused.

The MMDA will pay P500 per 12 cubic meters, or equivalent to a full Isuzu Elf flatbed truck load, of these excess materials. There are also corresponding rates for each sack.
Fernando pointed out that that they will recycle the excess construction materials and reuse it for various MMDA projects such as road and sidewalk improvements, U-turn slots and others.

The MMDA has fabricated its own sifting machine for this purpose, Fernando added.
“Things that people thought are worthless now have value. The government is spending just to make people be aware of their civic duties to protect the environment while earning extra money,” Fernando said. (back to top)

December 9, 2008

Metro Manila Council Urges LGUs To Enact Uniform Ordinance Regulating The Operation of Junk and Vulcanizing Shops

The proliferation of unsightly junk shops and vulcanizing shops obstructing the sidewalks and streets of Metro Manila will soon be regulated by Metro local government units (LGUs) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The Metro Manila Council recently approved in principle a resolution urging the LGUs to enact a uniform ordinance regulating the operation of junk shops and vulcanizing shops in their areas of jurisdiction and throughout the metropolis.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said it is high time for the local chief executives to keep at standard the operation of these small establishments, particularly those located on the sidewalks and road right-of-ways, because they contribute to traffic congestion and destroy the visual landscape of the community due to piles of junk and recyclable materials stored on the roofs and frontages of these shops.

He said the obstruction caused by the vehicles and pushcarts of clients and delivery men of these junk shops as well as the piles of waste materials on the roofs pose danger to motorists and pedestrians.

In the case of vulcanizing shops, Fernando said rows of cars and other public utility vehicles of motorist-clients of these establishments tend to cause vehicular and pedestrian traffic on the road and sidewalks where their flat and deflated tires are fixed because he operator failed to provide an ample space or garage for his business.

Residents have also complained of filthy junk shops frontages which they said are eyesores to the community because their workers dump their residual wastes anywhere they please and use the shop’s roofs as storage area and the sidewalk as sorting area, according to the MMDA chief.

Under the proposed city ordinance of each locality, basic guidelines and standards will be enforced and complied with by junk and vulcanizing shop operators pertaining to safety and sanitary requirements.

These include :

• Operators are required to secure clearance or license to operate from the solid waste management of the city or municipality
• Junk and vulcanizing shops should have sufficient parking space to accommodate for their clients’ vehicles and delivery pushcarts and for sorting, weighing and trading activities. Sufficient space shall mean an area of not less than 50 sq.m.
• Delivery and pick-up of junk materials must be strictly observed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. only to prevent hampering the flow of traffic during rush hours
• A waste water treatment system should be installed if washing of recyclable materials is required

Also under the proposed city or municipal ordinance, violators will be meted a P1,000 fine for first offense, P3,000 for second and P5,000 for third offense and cancellation of permit, or imprisonment of not less than 30 days but not more than 60 days or at the discretion of the court.(back to top)

December 5, 2008

President Arroyo will conduct a walk-through inspection today of the 15 bus stops dedicated specially for 2,500 provincial buses traversing EDSA

President Arroyo will conduct a walk-through inspection today of the 15 bus stops dedicated specially for 2,500 provincial buses traversing Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (Edsa) to see for herself whether such latest traffic solution project is fast gaining ground.

This was announced today by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando who said that the President wants to personally assess whether the establishment of 15 new loading and unloading stations on both north-bound and south-bound directions on Edsa by the agency has started to untangle the traffic gridlock on the 24-kilometer avenue since its soft opening a few weeks ago.

The President earlier directed Fernando to conceptualize a new traffic improvement project after observing that the sharing of bus stops among provincial buses and some 3,000 city buses has contributed to the traffic congestion along Edsa.

During the inspection, Fernando said the chief executive will get to see how the Organized Bus Route (OBR) system using radio frequency identification technology being implemented by the MMDA to control the dispatch of city buses from terminal to Edsa according to passenger demand has restored order and discipline among public utility vehicle (PUVs) drivers.

Fernando will also show the President various traffic geometric improvements such as U-Turn slots, footbridges, pink fences, gantries, directional signs, pavement markings and curbs , all of which he said, were undertaken to further improve the flow of traffic along Edsa and ensure the safety of motorists, commuters, pedestrians and the general public.

Mrs. Arroyo will likewise visit the footbridge on Quezon Ave. where 121,352 pedestrians walk through each day. The construction of the footbridge is a World Bank-assisted project by the Special Project Management Office of the MMDA under Assistant General Manager for Planning Cora Bautista-Cruz.

The MMDA has put up nine north-bound and six south-bound loading and unloading bays between Edsa’s Balintawak and Magallanes major entry points, complete with signages.

The third lane of Edsa is currently devoted for provincial buses while the first and second lanes are dedicated for city buses to facilitate the transfer of passengers without hampering the flow of traffic.

The bus stops are located underneath the flyovers to optimize the use of space along Edsa.

The designated bus stops in Edsa for provincial buses include Magallanes, Guadalupe bridge, Boni Serrano, SM Megamall-J. Vargas Ave., Ortigas Ave. Timog Ave., Quezon Ave.North Ave.-Trinoma Mall, Balintawak, West Ave. and Ayala Ave. (back to top)

November 29, 2008

Chairman BF’s Proposed High-Tech, High-Quality and High-Volume $1,000-each Housing Unit Program for the Poor Gets the Nod of the Asian Network of Major Cities

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando has succeeded in pushing for the adoption of an affordable, safe and fast mass housing technology program for developing cities in Asia as a joint project of the 11 member-countries of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC).

In its recently-concluded 7th Plenary Meeting held from Nov. 19-22 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the ANMC, composed of Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Taipei, Kula Lumpur, Yangoon, Hanoi, Delhi and Metro Manila, unanimously approved the Kuala Lumpur Declaration adopting, among other things, Fernando’s proposed mass housing technology project for developing cities in Asia, Metro Manila included.

Obviously elated over the positive development, Fernando said the more progressive ANMC members have agreed to fast track and pool their resources in order to produce in five years time, real low-cost housing units worth $1,000 each for the poorer member-countries using adaptable technology and of good quality and value, and reproducible in large quantity of at least 5,000 units a day.

“With this challenge, we will now exhaust all ways and means to produce real low-cost housing units for the poor that can be reproduced in high volume to meet the housing requirements of cities in Third World Asian countries, including of course Metro Manila,” he said.

“More advanced countries in Asia may have the technology but may not have actually looked into fitting this technology into low-cost housing units that would benefit millions of the marginalized poor,” he said adding that high quality is necessary to add value to the property that the poor have been longing to have.

During the Kuala Lumpur meeting, Fernando encouraged the other ANMC member-cities to participate in the project in order to address the housing problems haunting urban centers like Metro Manila.

He told the gathering that Metro Manila alone needs to have the capability of putting up at least 300 houses a day for the next 15 years to address its housing backlog especially for its 544,000 informal settlers occupying the capital’s public open spaces and dangerous zones.

“We have to capitalize on the use of technology and other processes that will enable us to produce safe houses at a cheap rate of $1,000 with the help of more progressive cities from the ANMC,” he stressed before his counterparts composed of governors, mayors and administrators of various Asian cities and metropolitan governments.

It can be recalled that last year, Metro Manila played host to the 6th Plenary Meeting of the ANMC held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza where the MMDA chief presented the proposed mass housing project to the body.

Fernando said Metro Manila’s strong commitment to the ideals of the ANMC to foster cooperation, peace, security and stability among cities in Asia were the factors that made the Philippines clinch the hosting honors of last year’s meeting.

For six years now, the annual meet has served as venue for ANMC’s member-cities to unilaterally discuss regional issues affecting the environment, health, tourism, trade and investments.(back to top)

November 27, 2008

Suspension of Excavation Activities for the Christmas Season

Starting midnight of Dec. 11, 2008 up to midnight of January 8, 2009, all excavation activities of the Department of Public Works and Highways, utility companies and contractors in all road right-of-ways in Metro Manila are temporarily suspended to ease traffic this Christmas season, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said yesterday.

Fernando said there is an urgent need to address the disturbance caused by excavations during construction because of the substantial increase in the volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic brought about by the onset of Christmas season.

“Numerous diggings and excavations being undertaken by public and private companies such as power, communication and water companies, greatly contribute to the traffic congestion along major and secondary thoroughfares at any time of the day whenever such construction is undertaken,” he said.

He said all diggings and excavations should be completed, stopped and restored before Dec. 11 this year to minimize the traffic congestion and inconvenience caused by such construction activities on motorists and commuters.

He appealed to contractors to restore properly their diggings and undertake appropriate measures to ensure that the affected roadways remain passable and serviceable to all vehicles and pedestrians during the holiday season.

Fernando qualified , though, that some excavation projects have been granted exemptions such as those related with emergency repairs or those works that would entail crossing a thoroughfare pursuant to an existing ordinance governing road diggings, excavation and restorations in Metropolitan Manila as sstipulated under MMA Ordiance No. 2 Series of 1991 and the amendatory MMDA Regulation No. 98-009.

He warned that violators will be penalized and fined accordingly as provided under section 3 of MMDA Regulation 98-009.(back to top)

November 18, 2008

MMDA Installs 13 Bus Stops along EDSA for Provincial Buses

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has started to put up 13 additional bus stops along Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (Edsa) dedicated specially for the 2,500 provincial buses plying to and from the capital in a bid to ease the traffic gridlock on the 24 kilometer-highway.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando had conceived the idea of designating bus stops exclusively for provincial buses after observing that the sharing of bus stops among city and provincial buses has contributed to the traffic congestion along the main thoroughfare.

Fernando said the establishment of more bus stops for provincial buses would run parallel with the improvement of bus stops for provincial buses to make it more convenient for commuters because most provincial buses have limitations with respect to loading and unloading their passengers.

“This project was envisioned to reduce conflicts over the shared use of limited road and bus stops space,” he said.

“Over-all, this minor curtailment of commuter privileges such as boarding or alighting anywhere they please that has also contributed to traffic congestion at major stops for both city and provincial bus stops will be minimized,” he added.

The move was taken by the MMDA following complaints from bus operators belonging to the Provincial Bus Association of the Philippines (PBAP) that they were having difficulties in loading and unloading their passengers on Edsa.

The MMDA’s traffic engineering center subsequently conducted a joint site inspection tour of Edsa with the officers of PBAP yesterday to find out whether the number of existing bus stops for provincial buses were sufficient before putting up new loading and unloading stations.

Under the project, seven stations along the north-bound and six south-bound directions between the two major entry points of Edsa , which are Balintawak and Magallanes, will be put up complete with traffic and directional signages.

The third lane of Edsa is currently devoted for provincial buses while the first and second lanes are dedicated for city buses to facilitate the transfer of passengers without hampering the flow of traffic.

Provincial buses , like city buses, are similarly given only 30 seconds to load and unload passengers and should leave the area as soon as another bus is fast approaching the bus stops.

Only provincial buses with a “P” mark painted below or above the windshield of their vehicles are allowed to use the bus stops.

Waiting sheds with benches will also be constructed for commuters at the bus stops.

The bus stops are located underneath the flyovers to optimize the use of space along Edsa.

The following areas are the designated bus stops for provincial buses : Taft Ave., magallanes, Ayala Ave., Ortigas Ave., Boni Serrano, Timog and East Aves., Quezon Ave., North Ave. and Trinoma Mall, West Ave. and Balintawak.(back to top)

November 14, 2008

NAIA Terminal 3 Landmark Rotundas Design Competition

A sculpture that gleefully showcases the rich natural resources of the country and shrouded triangulated planes of fragmented islands and continents of the world have copped the top prizes respectively of the NAIA Terminal 3 Landmark Rotundas Design Competition at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Alfonso Cusi, together with the board of jurors composed of national artists and renowned sculptors, architects and landscape artists, awarded yesterday in simple rites the P2-million cash prizes in the design contest of the two recently-completed monumental rotundas at the country’s premiere airport.

A total of 113 entries from Filipino communities here and abroad vied for the top plums in the contest which also include participants from New York, Malaysia, Singapore and Hongkong.

Fernando said the winning entries were the best artistic and architectural designs for the two NAIA Terminal 3 rotundas that encapsulate the Filipino’s rich cultural traditions and profound sense of affinity with the global community.

“The winning designs will showcase Metro Manila as the window of the country to the world and will enhance the image of NAIA to be at par with similar facilities worldwide,” he said.

The contest is divided into two categories namely the “Circulo del Mundo,” for the big rotunda and the “Maligayang Pagdating” for the smaller rotunda.

Layag Islas (Islands in Flight) of Adrian Lorenzo, Alfredo Alfonso, Mynn Alfonso, Carlo Lorenzo Tibajia, Chris Anthony Jimenez, Keith Bryan David and Karen Anne Naguit bagged the top prize of P500,000 for the Circulo del Mundo category.

The entry “Alibata of Jason Romeo Abustan, Mark Chua, Henry Concepcion, Arthur Seco, Ian Legaspi and Anne Lorraine Caban won the second prize of P300,000, while the design of Rafael Vesina, Mary Christine Josephine Layusa, Darrel Palma and Maria Arabella Sotto got the third place cash prize of P200,000.

In the Maligayang Pagdating category, Paul Chanco got the top prize of P500,000 for his entry “Pagbubunyi” while the “Sigay” design of Romeo Quicio won P300,000 cash prize, and P200,000 for the third place entry of Alexis Valiente, Herbert Jose and company.(back to top)

The Winners of the Design Competition

October 28, 2008

Pole Clearing Operations Tidy Up Visual Clutters in Metro Manila

Public and private utility firms have started bundling up their unsightly and dangling power and communication wires and cables along major thoroughfares to tidy up the visual clutter in Metro Manila.

This was announced today by Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) who led linemen and supervisors of National Telecommunications Commission, Meralco, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Bayantel, Globe, Destiny, Skycable and other cable companies in a massive pole-clearing operations yesterday on the 42-kilometer stretch of the Investors’ Route leading to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, hotel areas and Malacañang.

“I am glad that after several years of repeated calls from us for them to spruce up their wires and poles, they (utility firms) have come to their senses,” Fernando said.

Scores of linemen began scaling electric posts, removing dropped and dead wires, replacind dilapidated poles and bundling up cables and fixing utility cabinets and other street furniture initially on Manila International Airport (MIA) Road, Domestic Road, Barangay Pildera and Roxas Blvd, all in Pasay City, to give the areas a clean and orderly look.

Numerous informal settlers have reportedly been using dropped and dead wires of the utility firms to as their “jumpers” or illegal connection to electric posts which, according to the MMDA chief, have caused sporadic fires in congested areas in the capital last summer.

Fernando said that as soon as the pole and wire clearing operations are completed along the Investors’ Corridor, the MMDA and the utility firms will jointly undertake the same along the entire 5,000 km.-stretch of secondary roads in Metro Manila.

It can be recalled that the MMDA, through a Metro Manila Council resolution, suspended last year the issuance of permits for new installations and other projects of power and communication firms to force them to consider the safety and convenience of the public and the damage of dangled wires and rickety posts pose on the environment.

“These unsightly and tangled wires and cables and the leaning, rotten and redundant poles installed by these firms have contributed to the blight and clutter in the environment prompting the government to suspend their diggings and excavations for new installations,” Fernando said.

“The regulation will compel them to work better,” he added.

The ongoing pole and wire-clearing operations being undertaken are in preparation for the MMDA’s goal for utility firms to install their street facilities underground in line with the former’s cleanliness and beautification campaign, a component of its broader Metro Gwapo program.(back to top)

October 22, 2008

Imposition of Speed Limit Mulled by MMDA

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday said the agency is mulling over the imposition of a speed limit on the 24-kilometer stretch of Epifanio delos Santos Ave (Edsa), but only after a careful and thorough study and analysis of the current traffic conditions on the major thoroughfare.

Fernando has tasked the MMDA’s traffic engineering center to find out if there’s an observable correlation between the enhanced Organized Bus Route (OBR) system using radio frequency identification technology like micro-chips and cameras being implemented by the agency vis-à-vis traffic regulations like reckless driving and yellow lane policies, improvements in road conditions and safety before it can apply an appropriate speed for Edsa.

Pending the completion of the said study, Fernando said there’s no speed limit yet on Edsa which he said is supposed to be a non-stop highway and that motorists must be able to stop their vehicles within the line of sight.

“In the meantime that we are rushing the completion of the study, I am appealing to motorists to adhere to a US-based road safety organization’s core belief that in the absence of a speed limit on Edsa, they should always ensure that they can stop comfortably on their own side of the road within the distance that they know to be clear,” he said.

The MMDA chief was reacting to questions raised by newsmen whether the MMDA is ready to impose a speed limit on Edsa following a vehicular accident on Santolan along Edsa before dawn last Tuesday that left an optometrist dead and four injured.

Dr. Francisco Sarabia of marikina City was killed when the Mercedes Benz he was driving burst into flames after it was hit by a speeding passenger bus.

Offhand, Fernando did not discount the possibility of the MMDA setting a safe speed limit of 100 kms. per hour on Edsa if he said the situation warrants such.

What we can do now is increase our traffic enforcer numbers on Edsa 24/7 because speed and reckless driving traps are more effective and can detain offenders on site, he explained.

He said more traffic patrol enforcers will also be deployed to Edsa starting tomorrow to run after reckless drivers even during wee hours of the night.

Fernando further explained that the MMDA is rushing the installation of cameras along Edsa and tagging city buses with micro-chips to control the flow and dispatch of these public utility vehicles from terminal to designated routes using the yellow lane.

“We have already barred private vehicles and other PUVs from entering the yellow lane exclusively reserved for buses precisely also to minimize vehicular accidents on Edsa,” he said.(back to top)

October 15, 2008

51 Wireless Surveillance Cameras To Be Installed Along EDSA

Starting next month, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will install 51 wireless surveillance cameras on traffic lights along Edsa and other major thoroughfares that will ensure strict regulation and enforcement of traffic rules at loading and unloading bays and bus stops.

Dubbed as the Road Safety Surveillance System and Wireless Communications Backbone, this scheme will enable the command center based at the MMDA head office in Makati City to monitor the traffic situation along the entire stretch of Edsa and other major roadways especially during cases of traffic build-up, and determine the appropriate number of buses that are fielded per route according to passenger demand, according to MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando.

Fernando also said that under the said scheme, traffic congestion along Edsa and other major routes and long queues at bus stops due to the oversupply of buses at certain periods of the day will be greatly reduced because the MMDA will now be able to exercise more effective controls over buses and drivers.

“ It will be easier for us to track each one of the buses plying Edsa and other thoroughfares, field buses at bus stops where there’s big concentration of passengers and stop empty buses or those with only a few passengers from dawdling at loading and unloading bays,” he said.

All these will be fully attained and more effective when the MMDA employs also in December this year the installation of “micro-chips” or appropriate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology on all buses plying Edsa under the fully automated Organized Bus Route (OBR) system, the MMDA chief said.

The enhanced OBR system, among other things, ensures the controlled dispatch of some 3,000 buses plying 25 routes in northern and southern Metro Manila through the use of RFID chips and equipments in bus terminals, control stations and bus stops.

Fernando said the surveillance cameras will also enable the MMDA to act with dispatch on cases of stalled vehicles that cause traffic snarls if left unattended after a few minutes.

He said that in mid-December, the surveillance cameras will initially be installed at the intersection of Edsa and the following most priority areas namely; Macapagal Ave., Roxas Blvd, Taft Ave., Pasay Road, Ayala Ave., Orense, Shaw Blvd., Ortigas Ave., Santolan Road, Aurora Blvd., Timog/East Ave., Quezon Ave., North Ave., Roosevelt/Congressional Road, Balintawak, Rizal Ave., and Quezon Memorial Circle/Philcoa/Kalayaan/Quezon Ave./Visayas Ave.(back to top)

October 14, 2008

PUVs Barred From Entering Yellow Lane

All public utility vehicles (PUVs) except city buses will soon be barred from entering the yellow lane along Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (EDSA), according to Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando.

Fernando said it is no longer appropriate to allow other PUVs like taxicabs and Fx multi-cabs and jeepneys to use the yellow lane because the said lane is already occupied with some 3,000 buses plying Edsa with fixed routes.

“Taxicabs have no permanent routes, they are free to use the other lanes of Edsa, but allowing them to still use the yellow lane will further exacerbate the tight traffic situation now prevailing there with buses loading and unloading passengers in the area,” he said.

Besides, Fernando said that in preparation for the full implementation of the Enhanced Organized Bus Route (OBR) system using radio frequency identification technology (RFID) before the year is over, the MMDA has started regulating the orderly dispatch of buses from terminal to bus stops and control stations and at loading and unloading bays to ease traffic on the yellow lane and the entire stretch of Edsa from Monumento via Navotas and Fairview to Baclaran and vice-versa.

The OBR system has been perceived to improve the operation of bus service on Edsa by controlling the headway between buses dispatched at terminals according to passenger demand, and by strictly enforcing the rules on the use of PUV lanes and loading and unloading bays.

It is also aimed at weeding out colorums and out-of-lines buses from the legitimate ones. Pending the completion of tagging 3,500 buses with RFID or micro-chips and the installation of 51 cameras in strategic places along Edsa, the enhanced OBR has yet to be fully operational.

Traffic Operations Center (TOC) Executive Director Angelito Vergel de Dios, for his part, said disallowing taxicabs and other PUVs from entering the yellow lane will ensure an uninterrupted flow of buses and other vehicles on the outer lanes of Edsa.

De Dios said personnel of the traffic engineering center are rushing the fabrication of directional and informative signages to be posted along Edsa to turn away other PUVs and private vehicles from entering the yellow lane.

“In the meantime, our traffic enforcers are shooing away taxicabs and other vehicles from entering the yellow lane,” he said.

But the TOC chief warned that once all the signages have been put up, the MMDA would be ready to cite an erring motorist with yellow lane violation which carries corresponding fine of P300 for first offense.

At the same time, De Dios reminded all motorists who used to ignore the yellow and white solid line marking along Edsa which prohibits them from swerving and crossing other lanes will be strictly enforced shortly

“Matagal na panahon na binabalewala itong reglamentong ito. Parang sawa ang karamihan sa kanila habang palipat-lipat ng lane. Hindi na pwede to’ ngayon,” he said.

De Dios said motorists should keep in mind that they can only swerve or cross lanes on broken line markings along Edsa.

He said the MMDA now means business in enforcing the no-swerving and no-crossing traffic regulation due to the spate of road accidents arising from this form of reckless driving.

Violation to the no-swerving and crossing violation imposes a minimum of P500 to P2,000 fines especially in nearly accident cases. (Chito Chavez) (back to top)

September 10, 2008

Gwapotel Occupancy Increases

Occupancy rate at the Gwapotel 1 bed and bath facility on Bonfacio Drive, Port Area in Manila for low-income workers and other transients has gone up to 147 percent since last July, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the monthly occupancy rate at the four-story lodging inn since last July and August has totaled to 32,000 guests that the Gwapotel management was forced to turn away on several occasions hordes of prospective guests wanting to avail of a 10-hour stay in the place for a measly P25.

Fernando said students, ordinary workers, vendors, small entrepreneurs, white collar-job employees and other transients from the provinces who are doing business in Metro Manila have flocked to Gwapotel because they could not find an affordable, clean, safe and decent place to stay elsewhere.

“While going about their work and businesses in the metropolis, they cannot afford to pay higher rates in other lodging places because they are feeling the inflationary pinch,” he said.

The MMDA chief hinted that if the soaring occupancy rate continues, the agency would have no recourse but to add 100 more beds to accommodate more guests.

Gwapotel 2 on Jose Abad Santos, Tondo had its soft opening to the public recently. Its much talked-about capsular beds have not been offered to guests until each bed is fully equipped with piped-in airconditioning and other modern electrical requirements.

Gross earnings derived from the consistent high occupancy rate of Gwapotel from January to September 3 this year amounted to some P8 million, according to Amante Salvador, head of the MMDA’s social service office.

Salvador also attributed the big turnout of guests arriving at the doorstep of Gwapotel especially at night to the onset of rainy season when getting a ride back home is most difficult.

He said all types of workers from fortune tellers doing brisk business in Quiapo especially during Fridays and pier stevedores to overseas Filipino workers waiting for their flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and casino workers from five-star hotels at the Malate district frequent Gwapotel 1.

Other guests who regularly patronize Gwapotel 1 include employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways nearby, taxi drivers, salesmen, students from the provinces on field trips around the capital, seminar participants, bootblacks, ice cream vendors and members of religious groups belonging to El Shaddai and Jesus is Lordf Movement.

Close circuit television cameras are installed on each floor of the Gwapotel building to ensure the safety of the guests. Male and female guests are housed separately on the second, third and fourth floors.

Salvador said Gwapotel 1 now allows guests to avail of a full 24-hour stay at only P50.

The Gwapotel project is a component of the broader 10-point agenda of the Arroyo administration to decongest Metro Manila and stem the tide of suburban sprawl and traffic congestion.

A guest shells out P25 for an overnight stay and eight-minute use of its modern shower room using tokens inserted into a coin bank.

A total of 714 sturdy beds dot the three floors of the building with a separate stairway erected at the back leading to the female quarters.

Guests can partake budget meals at the food court on the ground floor.(back to top)

September 5, 2008

MMC Approves MMDA Traffic Radio

The Metro Manila Council (MMC) approved yesterday a resolution requesting Congress to grant the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) a franchise to operate a radio station as conduit for information exchange and government action between the latter and the people.

In its regular meeting yesterday presided over by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando and attended by Metro mayors and their duly authorized representatives, the MMC officially sanctioned the application for franchise of the agency to operate its MMDA Traffic AM Radio Station as an effective vehicle to deliver its Metro-wide services to the people and energize the execution of programs and projects.

Fernando said the radio station, which has been on air since late last year, is also very helpful as a channel of the MMDA to carry out its formidable tasks such as traffic and transport management, flood control, solid waste management, health and environmental improvement and public safety in Metro Manila.

The MMDA chief explained further that in the implementation of these functions by the MMDA under RA 7924, public information and education play through the radio station play a vital role to ensure the peoples’ cooperation and compliance to regulatory measures that have been instituted by the agency to address traffic congestion and environmental degradation concerns, and other risks due to natural and man-induced hazards.

“The radio station is unique in the sense that it is devoted mostly to traffic, non-commercial, and motorists and the general public would know first hand and on real time from our enforcers on the streets which roads are hassle-free and which ones will cause their blood pressure before they hie off to work, school or any destination,” he said.

The MMDA’s application for a franchise to operate the MMDA Traffic Radio went through rough sailing last week before the House committee on legislative franchise hearing where several lawmakers aired their misgivings that it might be used by Fernando for political purposes especially that the latter has publicly announced that he is running for President in 2010.

Deliberations on the MMDA’s application were deferred by the committee in the absence of an MMC approval of the same through an MMDA resolution.

The MMC-approved resolution, however, explicitly states that the communication facility will be utilized for information dissemination relative to the seven-pronged metro-wide services of the MMDA and shall not be used for political advertisement.

The MMDA had already invested in the equipment and transmitter facilities of the radio station and currently leasing the airing rights of the Banahaw Broadcasting Co. which is presently under the operational control of the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

The MMDA Traffic Radio is virtually a road show with anchor persons and enforcers familiarizing motorists on traffic situations, road conditions, courtesy and monitoring tips, and reminders for the convenience and safety of road users.

The station’s unique format is in close coordination with the MMDA’s Traffic Operations Center, civic volunteer organizations and radio production staff composed of well known radio personalities, writers and reporters. (Chito Chavez)(back to top)

September 2, 2008

MMDA Investigative Units Mobilized Due to Rampant Pilferage of Electricity

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando yesterday mobilized operatives of the agency’s traffic engineering and investigative units to various parts in Manila following reports of rampant pilferage of electricity by residents and barangay officials tapping traffic signal lights.

At the same time, Fernando asked the local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine National Police to assist the MMDA operatives in monitoring all traffic signalized intersections in the metropolis, particularly in Manila, where reports are rife that residents and even barangay officials have allegedly illegally tapped their electrical power connections on traffic signal lights devices.

The MMDA’s Security Intelligence and Investigation Office believed that pilferage of electricity is also rampant in Quiapo, Tondo and Sta.Mesa particularly in depressed areas.

Fernando sought the assistance of the LGUs and the PNP in the dismantling of illegally tapped electrical wires in barangays where based on information tipped off by some concerned residents to the MMDA, pilfers have reinstalled the same as soon as the operatives have left the place and at night time.

‘No amount of relentless monitoring on our part would put a stop to these illegal acts unless the LGUs help us follow through the operations,” he said.

Fernando took the move after discovering that the MMDA electric consumption bills for traffic signal lights has doubled at a time when the agency has strictly put in place energy cost-cutting measures since late last year.

He said pilferage losses arising from the reported illegal power connections would bleed the MMDA coffers dry if such criminal acts remain unabated.

He explained that it is not only the MMDA suffering from these losses but also the Metro LGUs whose yearly internal revenue contributions to the agency he said partly defray payment for electric consumption of all traffic lights in Metro Manila.

Last week, combined operatives of the MMDA’s Security Intelligence and Investigation Office (SIIO), Traffic Engineering Center and WPD Tactical Operation Center swooped down on Barangay 375 on Rizal Ave. and Aurora Blvd. in Manila where they stumbled upon rows of houses, sari-sari-stores and a barangay outpost whose electrical wires are hooked up on two traffic signal lights at the said intersection

They immediately cut off the illegal connections and replaced them with new lines, which according to SIIO chief Ely Pintang, are now tamper-proof because they were installed away from the barangay.

In a report to Fernando, SIIO head and Police Superintendent Ely Pintang said the pilfers had laid out their illegal electrical wires from the traffic signal lights to four sari-sari stores, shanties of ten families and to a barangay outpost across the street which is under the jurisdiction of a certain barangay captain Rolando Bohol.

The cable between the Meralco post and the service entrance of the traffic lights was re-installed in such a way that pilferage was not easily detected until we brought along electrical engineers with us, Pintang said in his report.

Charges of violation to RA 7832 or An Act Penalizing the Pilferage of Electricity and Theft of Electric Power Transmission Lines and materials are being readied by the MMDA against the residents of barangay 375 and their barangay captain. (back to top)

August 23, 2008

P2.39B Savings in Fuel Consumption seen due to Traffic Scheme Shift

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando yesterday reported that P2.39 billion savings in fuel consumption and personal time are expected to be generated every year as a result of the traffic scheme shift from signal control to U-turn scheme being implemented by the agency in major roadways in the metropolis.

Based on the actual monitoring, study and analysis conducted by the MMDA’s Traffic Engineering Center (TEC), Fernando said that since the traffic scheme modification from signal control to U-turn scheme or rotunda was implemented in 2005, the said total costs of fuel savings can be attributed to the marked increase in the average vehicular speed that exceeded the increase in fuel consumption due to the longer distance traveled by motorists via the 23 U-turn slots located in seven major roads in Metro Manila.

On fuel savings alone, P42.84 million per year has been generated from 2005 to 2008 on a normal U-turn on a road without widening and P51.45 million per year on a U-turn with widened road, he said

On the other hand, the total costs in personal time savings that would translate to the direct reduction in the take home pay of motorists, and indirect costs of lost opportunities and its equivalent amount in lost productivity may well reach a total of P2.33 billion covering the same period, the MMDA chief added.

Last week, the MMDA said travel time along the C-5 Kalayaan in the southern and eastern portions of the metropolis has improved with the opening of the elevated U-turn interchange more than two weeks ago.

Results of the travel time survey also conducted by the TEC said that traveling on Kalayaan Ave. and C-5 has increased by 90 per cent.

The U-turn or modified rotunda scheme is one of the MMDA’s traffic solutions to the traffic gridlock problem in various parts of Metro Manila. Unconventional as it is, the scheme is continuously being criticized by some sectors which have interpreted it as a waste of money on infrastructure, and a waste of fuel on the part of motorists who would travel a longer distance than in a traffic signal control scheme.

The agency’s detractors have likewise pointed to the perceived unsafe situation at the U-turn slot due to the presence of concrete barriers to maintain traffic direction and control.

On the contrary, TEC Director Ramon Ona said the U-turn scheme has its distinct benefits like its operational efficiency with respect to time and space.

“In a U-turn slot, vehicles utilize it all the time non-stop and all spaces in the roadway are being occupied with no gaps by vehicles negotiating the intersection,” he said.

Ona further explained that the situation can be better appreciated at night when a motorist could proceed continuously unlike in signalized intersections where vehicles would stop at red signal even when only a few or no vehicles are approaching the crossing street.

“Accidents usually occur in this situation because other motorists tend to ignore the signals,” he said.

In a related development, the Metropolitan Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) unit has reported a measly 0.13 percent or 84 accidents involving the hitting of barriers of the total number of 63,072 accidents recorded since last year.

MMARAS records also showed that 2,344 accidents had occurred at 11 signalized intersections along Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (Edsa) from January 2005 to July 2008 as compared to only 499 accidents that occurred at the 23 U-turn slots along the same corridor during the same period.

According to Ona, these records indicate that accidents at signalized intersections are more severe than at the U-turn slots as demonstrated by eight fatal accidents and 237 injured motorists at signalized intersections as against to only five and 43 injured at U-turn slots. (back to top)