September 23, 2009

MMDA Defends Removal of Trees Along Buendia Avenue As Part of Road Widening Project

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority defended today its decision to remove balled trees for the road widening project along Buendia Avenue in Pasay City, saying it has done nothing wrong on the project.

MMDA Legal chief and concurrent Assistant General Manager for Operations Emmanuel de Castro maintained that they were not cutting trees in the road widening project currently being undertaken in Pasay City.

“We wanted to clarify reports that the MMDA is cutting trees. The trees are not being cut, what we do is balled them so we can transfer them some place safe,” De Castro said.

The MMDA official issued the statement in reaction to reports that the road widening project has cut down ten (10) eight year-old trees along the center island of Buendia last September 3.

De Castro said the road widening is being done upon the request of the city government of Pasay in its effort to solve the traffic problem in the area.

As for the removal of the trees, De Castro said the MMDA has no choice but to do it to pave the way for the road-widening project and ensure smooth flow of traffic.

Most of the trees being balled are being transferred in Marikina where they are nourished by horticulturists.

The MMDA had earlier maintained that it had already secured the necessary authority from the previous administration of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for its tree balling operation along major thoroughfares of Metro Manila.

Aside from the clearing of the trees, the MMDA has been removing obstructions in the streets of Metro Manila such as sidewalk vendors, illegal structures, as well as shanties encroaching on the sidewalks in its continuing effort to improve the flow of traffic in the metropolis. (back to top)

SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

Two MMDA Field Personnel Face Dismissal Due To Bribery Complaints

Two traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) face dismissal from the service following bribery complaints against them by an American citizen they allegedly victimized.

Executive Director Angelito Vergel De Dios of the Traffic Operations Center (TOC) said he has recommended the immediate termination of Ryan Diaz while preventive suspension awaits Jonathan Lavente as administrative charges were already filed against him. Lavente is a permanent employee of the agency while Diaz is on job order employment status only.

The two enforcers were arrested on Monday after Daniel Staehelin sought the help of Pasay City Police authorities. Staehelin filed extortion charges against Diaz and Lavente who allegedly asked for ?3,500 for a traffic violation he committed. They took from him ?1,000 and $60 after his Filipina companion told them that they don’t have enough cash. The incident took place at the corner of Edsa and Park Avenue in Pasay City. Upon arrest, police recovered the bribe money from the enforcers.

“The termination of these errant enforcers shows that we are dead serious in weeding out scalawags and misfits from the agency,” De Dios said. He further stressed that the MMDA will never tolerate such misbehavior and that delinquent personnel who ruin the good reputation of the agency will be dealt with accordingly. The agency has summoned and penalized wayward enforcers caught through the CCTV cameras installed on major thoroughfares.

Meanwhile, De Dios also appealed to motorists to refrain from engaging in anomalous transactions with traffic enforcers or any MMDA personnel for that matter. “It is very difficult for us to stop these corrupt practices if there is connivance between the drivers and the enforcers. The public should also do their part and just follow the laws. Otherwise, they don’t have the right to complain,” De Dios emphasized.

Recently, Chairman Bayani Fernando said the MMDA will suspend the licenses of drivers who will be caught giving bribe money. (back to top)

SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

Sec. Fernando Orders 5-Minute Time Limit For TVR Issuance To Apprehended Motorists

Traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) now have only five minutes to process and issue a traffic violation receipt to every motorist they apprehended for traffic infractions.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando issued this directive today as part of the agency’s renewed campaign to prevent corruption among its traffic enforcers.

Fernando said the five-minute time limit will discourage both the apprehended motorist and traffic enforcer to initiate “under-the-table” settlement.

“In five minutes, the TVR should be completed and issued to the motorist. If it exceeds beyond five minutes, the motorist can report the name of the traffic enforcer to the Metrobase,” the MMDA chief said, referring to the MMDA’s 24-hour traffic monitoring and emergency communications units.

Metrobase can be reached through its hotline 136.

From going after corrupt and abusive traffic personnel, the MMDA’s anti-kotong campaign has expanded to include discouraging motorists from giving grease money to MMDA men.

Fernando reminded motorists that they should remain inside their vehicle when flagged down by MMDA traffic enforcers. And before surrendering their driver’s license, it should have been removed from its protective jacket.

This would prevent apprehended motorists from putting bills inside the driver’s license cover, a common practice of unscrupulous drivers when surrendering their licenses to traffic enforcers.

Fernando warned motorists that giving money to traffic enforcers as a way to avoid traffic penalties constitute direct bribery, which they could be charged of with in court.

“Giving money to persons in authority is bribery. We could charge you in court. And when that happens, it will appear in your NBI and police clearances and may affect your future trips abroad,” the MMDA chairman warned.

Fernando added the pending criminal records will also be forwarded to the Bureau of Immigration for the issuance of hold departure orders.

“To avoid serious complications, it would be better to follow the law and don’t tempt our traffic enforcers with bribe. Payment of traffic fines is as easy as going to the bank to deposit or withdraw money,” he said.

Fernando said motorists can pay their fines in any branch of Metrobank nearest their residence or place of work.

“The MMDA can also revoke your driver’s license. In that case, you will lose your right to use the roads,” he further warned motorists. (back to top)

September 23, 2009

MMDA Clarifies Issuance of TVRs By The Authority's Traffic Enforcers In The City Of Manila

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) clarified today that the City Government of Manila has no legal authority to prohibit MMDA traffic enforcers from issuing traffic violation receipts (TVRs) in the city.

Citing the legal opinion rendered by the Department of Justice (DoJ) on June 25, 2003, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the authority to issue TVR within Metro Manila belongs to the MMDA.

Fernando said this DoJ opinion, penned by then Secretary Simeon Datumanong, overrides whatever the interpretations of the local government units (LGUs) on matters concerning traffic management.

The MMDA chief said Manila mayor Alfredo might have been “misinformed” by his city legal chief Renato Dela Cruz that the city government could actually impose on a national government agency such as MMDA.

“We don’t see any practical reason why the enforcement of the law is exclusive to only one city. No other LGU in Metro Manila is questioning our mandate to issue traffic citation tickets,” he said.

“Why should we be forbidden when Manila cannot adequately provide for enough traffic enforcers in their jurisdiction? Manila needs all the help it can get to get its traffic moving,” he added.

Fernando further stressed that the MMDA’s authority to issue TVRs was sanctioned by the Metro Mayors Council (MMC), the MMDA’s policy-making body, where the Manila mayor himself is a voting member.

In his legal opinion, Datumanong said the authority to issue TVRs in Metro Manila, Datumanong is within the functions and power of the agency as provided for in its charter, Republic Act 7924.

“It is our view that the authority to issue traffic violation receipt within Metro Manila belongs to the MMDA. It is basic in interpretation of statutes that when the language of the law is clear and unequivocal, the law must be taken to mean exactly what it says,” he said in reference to the provisions of RA 7924.

While both the MMDA and the local government units are vested with the power to regulate traffic, the delineation of their respective powers and/or functions pertaining to the enforcement of traffic laws and regulations and the issuance of traffic violation receipts in Metro Manila, is clear and unequivocal, the DOJ opinion explained.

“The MMDA’s mandate is very clear: install and administer a single ticketing system, fix, impose, and collect fines and penalties for all kinds of violations of traffic rules and regulations,” added MMDA Assistant General Manager for Operations and concurrent legal service chief Emmanuel De Castro.

The MMDA’s clarification is in response to Lim’s directive prohibiting MMDA traffic enforcers from issuing the agency’s traffic violation receipts (TVRs) in Manila , citing the 1990 Local Government Code that supposedly delegates traffic management to mayors.

De Castro explained that RA 7924, the MMDA charter, is a special law created after the enactment of the Local Government Code on July 9, 1990.

“The provisions of RA 7924 clearly define the function of MMDA in traffic management metro-wide, whereas the Local Government Code generalizes LGUs’ traffic management function as ‘to manage traffic within the locality only’,” he said.

“In general, between the two laws, RA 7924 is a special law of special application that takes precedence over the law that is common and of general application,” De Castro added.

Citing an April 15, 2005 decision of the Supreme Court, De Castro said the role of the MMDA in the aspect of traffic enforcement is to enforce traffic laws, rules and regulations validly enacted by national and local government agencies to which legislative powers have been delegated and coordinate with and integrate the efforts of LGUs with the central government in formulating traffic policies.

In 1995, the MMDA and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) signed an agreement supporting and implementing the single ticketing system as mandated by RA 7924, according to De Castro.

“The traffic ticket adopted by the MMDA has been recognized and accepted not only by transport groups but by other law enforcement agencies as universally effective and efficient as it offers convenience to the motorists,” De Castro said.

Apprehended motorists, he added, do not worry about the effectivity of the MMDA TVR because it is recognizable all over Metro Manila, and nationwide.

“On the contrary, the LGU-imposed traffic tickets have territorial limitations and cannot be used as temporary license from one LGU to another. This situation will result to confusion and inconveniences among motorists,” De Castro stressed.

No high fines

Traffic Operations Center (TOC) Executive Director Angelito Vergel De Dios said that contrary to Manila ’s claim, MMDA imposes the lowest rate in traffic fines compared to other cities that have its own set of traffic rules and penalties.

De Dios said 70 percent of the agency’s set of fines and penalties for traffic violations amounts to P150 as against those of the other cities which average from P300 to P500.

In Manila, he said the most common traffic violations are illegal parking and obstruction, both with a corresponding fine of only P150, and not P500 as claimed by Lim. (back to top)

September 23, 2009

Sec. Fernando Clarifies Traffic Mandate of MMDA Based On RA 7924

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today clarified that the agency did not usurp the local government units (LGU’s) on matters concerning traffic rerouting and road closures by virtue of its mandate.

Fernando was reacting to newspaper reports on the MMDA’s alleged usurpation of authority from the LGU’s on the said issue.

He said the task of the LGU’s and police authorities is to closely coordinate with the MMDA and vice versa, if there is a need to detour traffic or close main roads especially during huge local, international, religious, or political gatherings that might cause traffic congestion on major thoroughfares.

“The MMDA is the clearinghouse for traffic concerns, not the local government unit. Matters related to traffic should be directly coordinated with us,” the MMDA chief reiterated.

Besides, he further explained that R.A. 7924, otherwise known as the MMDA Charter, clearly defines that provision of metro-wide services under the jurisdiction of the MMDA transcend legal political boundaries.

It will be recalled that Fernando met with the directors of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the Presidential Security Group last week on orders of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to solve prevalent traffic problems brought about by special gatherings and public events.

Fernando requested the district directors to submit a comprehensive traffic plan in every public gathering or event that would transpire in their jurisdiction. He stressed that it is a must for the local police to coordinate with the MMDA so that necessary adjustments can be made.

The agency’s role and function in managing traffic on the entire metropolis is clearly stated in RA 7924 or the MMDA Charter and it supersedes the authority of the local government units to perform traffic functions on their respective areas alone, he added. (back to top)

September 22, 2009

MMIAC Begins Identification And Prequalification of Process Of Housing Beneficiaries

Following the allocation of P50 Million from the Presidential Social Fund (PSF), the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC) has began the identification and pre-qualification process of squatter families that would be provided with housing benefits.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and MMIAC Chairman Bayani F. Fernando said the registration and pre-qualification to be done through the biometrics system, will take about a year and will ensure that only qualified informal settlers will be granted housing assistance under the MMIAC’s Comprehensive Shelter Program (CSP).

Fernando said the ?10 million first tranche of the PSF to be released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is part of the ?50 million PSF seed mobilization fund for MMIAC and will be used primarily to cover the expenses to be incurred in the biometrics registration system.

“We have started the identification of qualified informal settlers through this biometrics system. By taking each of the head of the family’s fingerprints, identification, and authentication of CSP beneficiaries will be much easier and fool-proof,” Fernando said.

Fingerprint biometrics is the technology of using a person’s fingerprint characteristics for identification purposes.

“Fingerprints offer an infallible means of personal identification. Fingerprints do not change so through this system, we can easily identify registered CSP beneficiaries from those who were merely pretending to be one,” Fernando said.

MMDA Assistant General Manager for Planning Corazon Bautista-Cruz, Head of MMIAC Secretariat, said around 6,000 squatter families in key areas in Metro Manila, particularly those living in danger areas and those affected by government infrastructure projects, will undergo the initial biometrics registration.

MMIAC expects that only about 50 percent of the 544,609 squatter families will qualify in the CSP of the MMIAC while 40 percent will be qualified for commercial housing or those with financial capabilities to secure housing loans from institutions such as the Social Security Systems (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and Pag-Ibig Fund.

The remaining 10 percent, meanwhile, are the “professional squatters” who are disqualified from the CSP benefits.

Fernando said professional squatters are those who were already provided housing or relocation benefits in the past but chose to rent out or sell their properties and went back to being squatters.

MMIAC is the inter-agency body formally created by President Arroyo in May 21, 2009 to “plan, coordinate, and implement, in coordination with concerned government agencies a Comprehensive Shelter Program for informal settlers affected by government infrastructure projects and those living in danger areas in Metro Manila”.

MMIAC is chaired by the MMDA Chairman while the General Manager of the National Housing Authority (NHA) sits as vice-chair. The other members of the MMIAC include the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Office of the President-External Affairs (OPEA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Caritas Manila, and the National Urban Poor Sectoral Council (NUPSC).

Fernando said that the main objective of MMIAC is to provide shelter to informal settlers within a ten-year period, thereby eradicating Metro Manila’s decades-old problem on squatting.

The MMIAC chief said that the committee, in providing housing to qualified beneficiaries, is looking into three-types of relocation: “off-site relocation” – the transfer of an informal settler family to another area of settlement; “on-site development” – the direct purchase of the lot occupied by the informal settlers for purposes of upgrading their living environment; and the development of medium-rise buildings (MRBs) such as those in Vitas, Tondo, Manila, Pasig, and Taguig cities. (back to top)

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

Pipe-laying Project Along EDSA Tackled By MMDA And MWSS Officials

Officials of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) met yesterday to discuss possible scenarios to the impending pipe laying project of MWSS along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).

Prior to the meeting, the MMDA has rejected the application for excavation permits of several contractors tasked by the MWSS for the said project. According to Director Noemi Recio, head of the Traffic Engineering Center, the agency refused to grant the permits because the project is expected to cause monstrous traffic problems, as the pipe laying project is to run on various locations along Edsa, from Monumento to Taft and vice versa.

However, officials of the MWSS, led by Engineering and Construction Head Yolanda Lucas, appealed to the MMDA to issue the necessary permits so they can start the project. She said the project is indispensable as they need to replace the old and existing pipes because most of them are already leaking.

Recio yielded to the request of MWSS provided that they will strictly follow certain guidelines. She told the MWSS officials that they will be allowed to conduct the diggings and operations from 10 PM to 4 AM only. All equipment and other obstructions should be cleared and the roads must be passable by that time.

“There will be no problem so long as they don’t cause traffic. Otherwise, we will be forced to stop them and impose penalties on them depending on the gravity of the offense or violation”, Recio said.

She also instructed the MWSS officials not to excavate the entire length of the project at once. Instead, they should dig portion by portion and cover it once done in order to avoid unnecessary inconvenience to the public. Recio also stressed that the soil from the diggings should be piled up on a discreet area and not on the main road as it will surely cause traffic.

For their part, the MWSS officials thanked the MMDA and promised to adhere to the guidelines set by the agency. They said it is a big help in realizing the promise of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of providing potable water for all thru the “Patubig Program”.

The MWSS is mandated to ensure continuous and adequate supply of potable water for domestic purposes at equitable rates. (back to top)

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

MMDA Joins PNP On Plans Of Easing Traffic Gridlock During Public Gatherings

Acting on orders of President Arroyo, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando today enjoined the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) and its five police districts to come up with stringent measures to ease traffic gridlocks caused by public gatherings and special events within their areas of jurisdiction.

In a meeting at the MMDA office in Makati City , Fernando underscored the need for a closer coordination between the MMDA, PNP and the Presidential Security Group (PSG) on matters concerning road closures and/or detours for local, international or religious activities and assemblies or for VIP convoys and entourage.

“The President is very concerned that he ordered us to meet with our police authorities to minimize these traffic congestions brought about by these gatherings. What we’re asking from the police is that they should at least coordinate first with the MMDA when there are roads that would be closed or rerouted so we can make the appropriate adjustments,” Fernando said.

Those who attended the meeting were NCRPO officer-in-charge Chief Supt. Roberto Rongavilla, Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Supt. Benjardi Mantele, Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Supt. Jaime Calungsod, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Supt. Elmo San Diego and Northern Police District (NPD) director Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao.

The PSG, in charged of the President’s security as well as those of visiting heads of states and diplomats, was represented in the meeting by its deputy commander Colonel Ivan Samarita.

Relaying President Arroyo’s concerns, Fernando required the district directors to submit a traffic plan to the MMDA in every major event or public assembly that would take place in their areas of operation (AOs).

“The MMDA is the clearinghouse for traffic concerns, not the local government unit. Matters related to traffic should be directly coordinated with us,” Fernando explained.

Fernando particularly cited the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City , which regularly host numerous local and foreign conventions, meetings, fairs, and social events.

Fernando asked the SPD, which has jurisdiction over Pasay , to establish their security outposts, inspection points, and parking areas at the inner perimeters of the PICC and CCP grounds, not along any part of Roxas Boulevard where it could obstruct traffic.

“We would also require the PICC and CCP management to submit their respective traffic plans to us so we will know what to do and what to coordinate with the local police,” the MMDA added.

As to the PSG, Fernando asked Samarita if it would be possible to inform the agency of the President’s route in advance without putting the President’s safety at risk.

Samarita responded that the PSG had been regularly communicating with the MMDA. He added the President does not want special treatment when travelling in the presidential convoy, as it causes inconvenience to the motoring public.

The directive of the President for the MMDA, the police and the PSG to address the traffic gridlock problem in the capital came in the wake of the President herself being holed up in a monstrous traffic jam along Osmeña Blvd. during an international convention of foreign ministers at the PICC complex recently.

During the said convention, traffic was at standstill at the peripheral areas of the PICC complex, from Pedro Gil in Manila to Roxas Blvd , up to Makati City .

Fernando also directed his traffic experts to take a more proactive role in coordinating with all agencies concerned so that there would not be a repeat of the Osmeña traffic incident.

“The problem gets doubly compounded when traffic becomes a security matter,” he told MMDA traffic operations center chief Angelito Vergel de Dios.

Fernando assured the police commanders that traffic monitoring will be greatly improved when the MMDA acquires 100 more closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in major thoroughfares.

He said the MMDA’s CCTV cameras will augment the NCRPO’s own security surveillance cameras. (back to top)

September 14, 2009

MMDA's Trip Tracker: A Crime Deterrent Measure vs. Erring Cab Drivers

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando today described his “Trip Tracker” project as a crime-deterrent measure designed to nail erring cab drivers who connive with crime groups.

Dubbed as “Iwas Holdap, Pagtugon sa Oras ng Kagipitan”, the latest anti-crime tack is being launched under the Safe City Program of the agency.

“We need to protect the commuters against crimes taking place inside public utility vehicles, particularly taxi cabs,” Fernando said, adding that the measure was prompted by rising complaints by returning Overseas Filipino Workers, balikbayans, students and women against abusive cabbies.

Aside from its Metrocall 136 hotline, the passengers can access the MMDA cellphone nos. - 09175618709 (Globe) and 09209472116 (Smart) to send their text messages for complaints.

Passengers simply need to text the plate numbers and name of the taxi cab as soon as they are on board the taxi. “This way, cab drivers will have second thought before perpetuating his malicious intent, if any,” he said.

This new measure gives the MMDA a way to build profiles and track the behavior of the drivers.

“Nowadays, the perception is that the taxis are no longer safe. Passengers are being robbed and taken advantage of. We really need to monitor so that the driver and the operators can be held liable in case something happen to their passengers,” Fernando said.

He said passengers can report all cases of traffic violations, including refusal to convey passengers, using defective taximeters, overcharging or asking additional cash other than the rate indicated on the taximeter. They can also report rude and impolite cab drivers.

The MMDA will be putting stickers bearing the hotline nos. inside the taxi cabs and other public utility vehicles such as buses, jeeps and tricycles.

It will also be posting more stickers at taxi stands, waiting sheds, shopping malls and other public places to aptly inform the public.

Mila Silvestre of the MMDA Communications and Monitoring Center said they have set up a system where text messages sent by the passengers are automatically transmitted to the computer for segregation and processing by MMDA personnel.

These computers are interconnected with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Land Transportation Office (LTO), she said.

Silvestre added that disposition of proper action will depend upon the complaint to be forwarded by the passengers.

“If it involves the commission of crimes, we will coordinate it with the PNP and if it is traffic related, we can coordinate it with the Traffic Operations Center or the LTO, for proper action,” she said.

Even drivers who want to know if they have outstanding traffic violations can text the MMDA for verification. (back to top)

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

Major MMDA Operation Clears Paranaque And Baclaran Of Sidewalk Vendors And Illegal Structures

The Baclaran area in Parañaque City has been cleared anew of sidewalk vendors and illegal structures following a major clearing operation conducted by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) last Thursday.

The MMDA’s return to Baclaran, after several months of lull in its sidewalk clearing operations, signaled the agency’s renewed drive to clear Metro Manila’s roadways of all types of obstructions in time for the coming Christmas season, where traffic is particularly heavy.

“This is just the start. We want to remind the local government units that it is unlawful to grant permits to vendors to ply their wares on the roads and sidewalks,” said Director Roberto Esquivel, head of the MMDA’s Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group (SCOG).

About 130 SCOG operatives made a surprise raid in Redemptorist Street and at the service road of Roxas Boulevard from Airport Road to Edsa at 8 am last Thursday, shooing away hundreds of street vendors before they could put up any form of resistance.

By 5 pm, the area had been cleared, hundreds of illegal structures were torn down and dismantled without anyone getting hurt, according to Esquivel.

The perimeter fence of the Baclaran Church had also been cleared of hundreds of stalls being used by sidewalk vendors.

“Natuwa nga ang Baclaran Church at nalinis na ‘yung paligid nila. Now they can put up their Christmas decorations,” Esquivel said.

With the Redemptorist Street now cleared of roadblocks, one lane had been allotted for private vehicles going to and from the Baclaran Church .

“Traffic flow in Redemptorist is now smooth as ever unlike in the past that traffic is always bumper-to-bumper,” Esquivel pointed out.

During the clearing operation, Esquivel said several “politicians” asked that the activity be halted, citing humanitarian considerations.

“We told them no. This is the order of Chairman (Bayani) Fernando and besides, it is illegal to allow these vendors to use the roads and sidewalks,” he said.

The SCOG head said the MMDA is now setting its sight on other critical areas in Metro Manila, particularly Commonwealth Avenue , Bicutan, and the stretch of Edsa.

Esquivel launched the clearing operation on orders of MMDA Fernando, who wants Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares cleared of obstructions by December.

Fernando said clearing the sidewalks and roadways will greatly contribute to lessening traffic congestion during the Christmas season. (back to top)

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

MMDA's Appeal to Ibayo Creek Residents: Give Way To Flood Control Projects Of The Agency

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has appealed to the residents living along the banks of Ibayo Creek to give way to the flood control project of the agency to ease flooding in Barangay Sto. Nino in Paranaque City .

The MMDA said illegal structures alongside the creek have been identified as the major cause of flooding during heavy downpour along Sucat Road in front of the Casino Filipino last Sunday.

"Informal settlers living alongside danger zones such as creeks, canals and rivers have no other choice but to find other relocation sites for their own safety," said Flood Control Management Service (FCMS) head Baltazar Melgar who has been coordinating with local officials of Paranaque to solve the flood problem in the area.

He said these residents have been issued notices to voluntarily vacate their structures since last month. He said the clearing of the shanties will free up the waterways and ease up flooding along Sucat Road .

Melgar said other families that will be affected by the flood control project of the MMDA in the area have started to voluntarily leave the area.

"In case the local government will ask our help to assist in the transport of the belongings of the affected families, we will be obliged to assist them," he said.

Aside from the widening of the creek, the agency had also undertaken the pipe laying and improvement of the drainage system along Sucat Road .

As of yesterday, there have been 25 families who have decided to avail of the P3,000 financial assistance provided by the MMDA in coordination with the office of Sto. Nino Barangay Captain Ismael De Leon .

Informal settlers numbering around 125 have been found to be squatting along the banks of the creek, disposing their garbage directly to the waterways, thereby choking the flow of the water and causing it to rise above the one-meter high railings of the Sto. Nino Bridge .

Melgar said it will be difficult to widen the creek because of the presence of these informal settlers.

“For this to be done, we really have to relocate them. This will free up the waterways of obstructions that constrict the flow of water and lessen the build up of garbage that clogs it during rainy days,” Melgar explained.

He said the widening of Ibayo Creek will ease the flooding along Sucat Road since it will increase the waterways’ capacity to carry huge volume of rainwater, especially during incessant rains.(back to top)

Sept. 10, 2009

Sec. Fernando's Presidential Bid Continue to Gain Public Approval

The presidential bid of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando continue to gain public approval as a major transport alliance threw its all-support to the MMDA chief, whom it has described as the defender of the transport sector’s interests.

The Alliance of Concerned Transport Operators (ACTO) said no other chairman that served at the MMDA has shown much sympathy to the welfare of the operators and drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) than Fernando.

“Chairman Fernando is just the kind of leader we at the transport industry need. His projects at the MMDA, no matter how other sectors see it differently, have contributed so much to the livelihood of our poor PUV drivers and operators,” ACTO national president Efren De Luna said during the transport group’s general assembly at the Aberdeen Court in Quezon City last Sunday.

“Mahal na na mahal siya ng sector ng transportasyon dahil pinagtatanggol niya ang ating hanapbuhay,” De Luna added.

The transport leader said the MMDA’s sidewalk clearing campaign has been significantly helping the local transport industry.

“With clean and unobstructed sidewalks, traffic has improved. This means faster and safer trips and increased income for the PUV drivers,” De Luna said.

Through Fernando, he pointed out, the road system of Metro Manila has undergone major rehabilitation, resulting to improved traffic flow.

“Ang nakikita lang natin ay puro pahirap pero kung pag-aaralan natin, ang mga programa ni Chairman Fernando ay para rin sa ating mahihirap,” De Luna said.

The ACTO president admitted that his organization erred in calling for the abolition of the MMDA on 2005. He said Fernando himself has proved that the MMDA has become one of the top-performing government agencies under the Arroyo administration.

ACTO has a nationwide membership of about 350,000, according to De Luna. (back to top)

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

MMDA Established As Reserve Unit Of Philippine Army

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was formally signed last September 3, 2009, establishing the MMDA and its personnel as a reserve unit of the Philippine Army.

No less than MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando signed the agreement while Brig. Gen. Danilo Garcia, ARESCOM Commander, signed on behalf of Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, Commanding General of the Philippine Army.

The said MOA is pursuant to Section 10 of Republic Act 7077 or the AFP Reservist Act, which mandates the AFP to organize reserve units from various government agencies and private corporations. The Army is in charge of forming reservist groups from different government agencies.

Fernando said the agreement would foster a new dimension of experience and knowledge for MMDA, especially for a number of personnel who are already reservists. He added that the trainings to be conducted by the Army will teach everybody to become better reservists, as both agencies share a common vision and aspiration of protecting the interest of the public at all times.

Fernando pointed out that the MMDA will be more of an engineering brigade and the focal points of the trainings to be conducted are disaster preparedness and emergency response. Under the MOA, the MMDA, in cases of extreme emergencies, shall provide adequate manpower and assets to the AFP. “This is a good opportunity to be a part of one’s duty to serve the country”, Fernando said.

This early, a total of 4,000 volunteers are undergoing disaster preparedness training in coordination with the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

Fernando further stressed that the MMDA, among other government agencies, should excel better as they are always working on the roadways. “This all goes well with the agency’s and my personal advocacy of discipline and order”, Fernando noted. (back to top)

AUGUST 20, 2009

Lanao Confers Honorary Title Of Sultan To Sec. Bayani Fernando

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando has been conferred the honorary title of Sultan by the 16 Royal Houses of Lanao in recognition of the support and respect he has shown to the Muslim community.

During his visit to Cagayan de Oro City last Wednesday where he graced the 1st founding anniversary of the Lanao Advisory Council (LAC), Fernando was also declared as an adopted son of Lanao by less than Sultan Topaan Disomimba, Sultan Bzar of Masiu, who is the chairperson of LAC – a privilege rarely given to non-Muslims.

The MMDA chief was invited as guest speaker by the 16 Royal Houses of Lanao, who recognize the MMDA chief’s unparalleled determination and political will to bring about change and progress to the country, including the Muslim community.

“For us, Chairman Fernando is a true blood Muslim. What he says, he will do, as long as it is the betterment of the people. This character endeared him to us,” said Princess Lala Indar, a member of the Royal Sultanates.

Princess Lala Indar said Fernando, despite being a non-Muslim, has proven that he is a supporter of the Islamic faith. She cited the MMDA chairman’s projects in Metro Manila that greatly benefited the Muslim people.

“Muslim or non-Muslim, we give respect and importance to those who have shown great friendship. Chairman Fernando has been very close to the Muslim community,” she added.

With the theme “The Sultanates’ Role Towards Peace and Prosperity and Development in Mindanao”, the 1st anniversary celebrations of LAC at Pryce Plaza Hotel was attended by over 200 people, especially the 16 Sultans and bai alibi in Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and the cities of Marawi and Iligan and some towns in Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon.

The 16 Sultans comprised the LAC, which President Arroyo created through Executive Order No. 602.

The council’s main task is to advice and recommend to the President matters that will promote peace and development as well as facilitate the peaceful settlement of conflicts in areas where these sultanates are recognized.

LAC will also assist the government in the implementation of its programs within its area of responsibility (AOR), submit quarterly reports on its accomplishments and activities and perform such other functions and duties as maybe assigned by the President of the Philippines .

Fernando said it is a great honor to be welcomed and accepted by the 16 Royal Sultanates.

“Many of the conflicts in Mindanao were resolved by the Sultanates, thus, their contribution to peace and prosperity cannot be measured. It is a great honor and privilege to work closely with them,” he said. (back to top)

August 20, 2009

FCMS Chief Calls on LGUs To Strictly Monitor Building Constructions As Part of MMDA's Flood Reduction Effort

In its continuing effort to reduce flooding during heavy downpour, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Flood Control Management Service Chief Engr. Baltazar Melgar urged local government officials today to be vigilant in monitoring building constructions and land developments in their areas.

He said it is important to keep an eye on the said projects even after the issuance of the building permits as most of the construction companies and developers deviate from the original plans they have submitted.

According to Melgar, these are rampant occurrences especially in private subdivisions and villages. “What’s happening is that the developers or construction companies submit a compliant plan to the local engineering officials. Then after securing the necessary permit, they will change it altogether”, he noted.

In particular, Melgar cited Rockville Subdivision in Bagbag, Novaliches. He said this area is frequently immersed in flood water as the developer altered the natural waterway and was in fact able to get a land title for it and subsequently sold it. He pointed out that alteration of natural waterways are prohibited under the law but are still done nonetheless because of laxity in implementation.

During one of their operations, they asked the owner of the subject land to vacate the premises but they refused. In order to alleviate the flooding problem in the area, his team demolished a portion of the Richard Steel Plant which occupies the lot.

These kind of actions irked land owners as well as informal settlers, thus earning lawsuits for Melgar. “Whenever we demolish informal settlers, we are labeled as human rights violators. But we at MMDA are only doing our jobs. It is for the good of the majority”, he said.

In addition, Melgar pointed out that it is a must for government agencies such as Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as well as local government units to examine and evaluate the land development and building plans submitted to them.

He further stressed that the MMDA should also be among the agencies to issue clearances prior to development or construction, more so in flood-prone areas. “The MMDA should be involved in the process from the start. By doing so, we can prevent errant construction along natural waterways outright”, he quipped. (back to top)

AUGUST 18, 2009

MMDA Eyes Construction Of Barangay Hall For Quiapo Muslim Community In Manila

Barangay officials and residents of Barangay 648, Zone 67 at the heart of the Muslim community in Quiapo, Manila will soon have their own barangay hall courtesy of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The two-storey structure located along Palanca Street is expected to be completed within the month, ending Barangay 648 officials’ problem of lack of proper place to hold office and serve their constituents.

The absence of a barangay hall has prompted Barangay 648 Chairman Bae Norhaina Lucman to hold office at her residence.

“Soon, they will have a barangay hall that they can call their own. This is our simple gift to our Muslim brothers and sisters in Quiapo,” Fernando said.

Upon Lucman’s request, Fernando approved the construction of the barangay hall last January. The building is set to be completed by the end of the month in time with the Muslims’ observance of Ramadan starting on August 22.

The MMDA used its own funds to finance the P1.3 million- project and hired around 30 residents at the Islamic Center and in nearby areas in Manila to put it up.

Barangay 648 is one of the three barangays covering the Muslim community in Quaipo, one of the largest Muslim settlement areas in the country. It is the site of the Golden Mosque, the largest mosque in Metro Manila that can hold 3,000 people.

“With its own office building, we’re hoping that the barangay can now fully function and serve their constituents,” Fernando said.

Aside from the new barangay hall, the MMDA is also conducting physical redevelopment and face-lifting of the Muslim compound, such as properly bundling dangling electrical wires and fixing water pipes.

Fernando said drainages at the area are also being regularly cleaned and repaired. (back to top)

August 17, 2009

160 New Employees Welcomed By Secretary Bayani Fernando

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) welcomed to the agency today a total of 160 new employees.

The new employees, mostly from Navotas and Tondo, were hired as kamineros under the “Trabaho Trabaho” program of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Under the said program, mobile recruitment teams, in coordination with local government officials, were deployed on various areas in the metropolis to provide jobs to the jobless and the marginalized sectors of the society.

During the formal contract signing and oath-taking held at the MMDA office, Chairman Fernando urged the new employees to work hard and to perform their duties well. He encouraged them to further improve in their areas of expertise and to develop their craft, especially those who wish to land a job with higher pay.

“Should you find a better job, the agency will not stop you”, Fernando said.

Most of the new recruits were displaced from their previous jobs as construction workers, vendors, tricycle drivers, and fast food service crews. They will be dispatched near their areas of residence to help them save on transportation expenses.

The event was also attended by MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno. (back to top)

AUGUST 17, 2009

Atty. Emmanuel De Castro Of The MMDA Legal Service Is Sworn In As New MMDA AGM For Operations

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has a new assistant general manager for operations in the person of Legal Service chief Atty. Emmanuel De Castro.

De Castro, former vice mayor of Lipa, Batangas, was sworn into office yesterday morning by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando following President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s approval of his appointment as the new AGM for Operations.

The post of AGM for Operations has been vacant since its last holder, Rogelio Uranza, retired from the service on September 2003.

“A practicing lawyer and a former vice mayor, Attorney De Castro has more than enough expertise to be the MMDA assistant general manager for operations. Let’s give him the chance to prove his worth,” Fernando said during yesterday’s formal oath taking of Castro at the MMDA office in Makati City .

The newly-installed AGM has been in the MMDA since August 2003, serving as chief of the agency’s Legal Service department that represents the MMDA in all its court litigations.

De Castro said it is a “great privilege” to be appointed as the new assistant general manager of the MMDA.

“I promise that I will work hard and honest and help implement the policies of Chairman Bayani Fernando,” he said, vowing to champion the MMDA’s mandate to transform Metro Manila into a world-class and progressive community.

With De Castro taking up the vacant post, the MMDA now has a complete set of executive officials. Under Republic Act 7924, the law that created the agency, the MMDA Chairman shall be assisted by a general manager and three AGMs – one for planning, finance and administration, and one for operation.

As AGM for operations, De Castro will take charge of and manage the MMDA’s line units such as Flood Control Management Service, Landscape, Traffic Operations Center and Solid Waste, among others.

Under RA 7924, an AGM for operation shall also “establish a mechanism for coordinating and operationalizing the delivery of metro-wide basic services”.

He shall also “maintain a monitoring system for the effective evaluation of the implementation of approved policies, plans and programs for the development of Metro Manila.”

De Castro has been in the government service for 17 years and was elected vice-mayor of Lipa from 1992-1995. He also served as executive vice-president of the Vice-Mayors’ League of the Philippines for Luzon during the same period. (back to top)

August 16, 2009

Ten Outstanding Young Employees of Marikina To Be Awarded On August 28, 2009

Ten young Marikeños who have shown extraordinary excellence and commitment in their chosen field of work will be conferred with honors on August 28 at the 10th awards night of the Ten Outstanding Young Employees of Marikina (TOYEM).

Now on its 10th year, the annual search gives due recognition to Marikina residents who have displayed exemplary performance and exceptional dedication in their profession.

“TOYEM complements our city’s collective effort to champion excellence. Every year, the award chooses and honors 10 Marikeños for their exemplary track record as employees and citizens of the city,” Marikina City mayor Marides Fernando.

“Excellence is not a buzzword. It is one of the imperatives for our city to reach the pinnacle. This is what TOYEM is all about,” Fernando said.

This year’s Gabi ng Parangal will be held at the Marikina Convention Center at 6 pm on August 28, where 10 from 28 finalists will be chosen as the 2009 TOYEM awardees.

TOYEM was conceived by Luis Buenaventura, President and CEO of the Marikina-based Mind Matter Attitude (MMA), Inc. to serve as the media company’s anchor community project on April 18, 2000, right at the time when then Marikina City mayor Bayani Fernando was fast transforming the city

from an underdeveloped community to a progressive and model city it now has come to be.

The first TOYEM awards night was eventually held sometime on August 2000 and has faithfully been done yearly since then.

TOYEM is open to city residents aged 18 to 38 who are employed in ten fields of occupation: local government (department/office level), healthcare clinics and hospitals, academe (day care, Montessori, elementary to tertiary levels), restaurants, fast food chains, hotels and recreations (waiters, cooks, crews, crews and junior manager), shoe design and manufacturing, small and medium shops/wholesale and retail (malls. Gift shops, hardware and construction), services (banking, lending, pawnshop, insurance), cooperative, civic and religious; and communication, printing, publishing, computer technology and telecommunication.

To join, an aspirant, after the submission of the necessary documentary requirements, shall be duly nominated by the company or office he/she is working for.

The Contest Screening Committee shall select top three nominees for each category. The 30 finalists will then undergo the final interview by the Board of Judges a week before the scheduled awarding ceremonies.

Each of the 30 finalists will be given cash rewards, gift certificates and gift packs while the ten winners, to be announced during the Gabi ng Parangal, will be awarded with additional cash and a plaque. (back to top)

AUGUST 14, 2009

No Premature Campaigning With The Airing Of MMDA Infomercials On TV - Sec. Fernando

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando convinced the Senate yesterday of the vital need to air infomercials in order to inform the public of their responsibilities in keeping an orderly metropolis.

In an interview with newsmen, Fernando pointed out that he has not committed premature campaigning with the airing of the MMDA infomercials on television and radio.

“While I have consistently signified my intention to run for the Presidency in the 2010 elections, I have not filed my certificate of candidacy just yet,” Fernando said.

During the hearing on the supposed premature campaigning of several Cabinet members and few presidential aspirants, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago asked Fernando if plastering his serious-looking face on television is necessary.

Fernando explained that as the head of the agency, he has to project a strict and determined image to prod the people to obey the laws.

“’Yung nakasimangot, magandang i-project sa publiko to show them that we at the MMDA is very serious in implementing the law. May ugali kasi ang Filipino na magtanong ng ‘sino may sabi?’, ‘sino bang nag-utos nyan?’ Kaya kailangang may mukha ng head of the agency, baka sumunod, ” the MMDA chief explained.

“Kung may batas mang nagbabawal na ilagay ang mukha (sa TV), ako ay susunod,” Fernando stressed.

He clarified that the MMDA infomercials currently being shown in selected TV networks are only 15 seconds long, not six minutes as claimed by Santiago .

Shortly after being appointed at the MMDA, Fernando said he produced a TV show called the “MMDA on the Road” to educate the audience on the programs and projects implemented by the agency - purely and clearly intended for public benefit.

He stressed that the MMDA programs and other infomercials are not election spending and are classified as “regular information media” aimed at increasing public awareness and consciousness on the plans, programs, and projects of the MMDA.

“It has always been my main advocacy that our people should learn how to use their city. This has been my civic contribution to our society long before I entered public service,” Fernando said.

Saying that the citizenry’s level of consciousness on government existence has increased, Fernando said that through these TV programs and infomercials and the improvements they see on the road, “we have succeeded in making people feel that their government is indeed working for them.”

“Despite all the negative publicity about our government and the critical nature of our work, such as removing the sidewalk vendors, dismantling illegal constructions, making our streets and sidewalks hassle-free and putting order in the city, I believe that it is just right that the public see or hear about the good side of the government,” Fernando pointed out. (back to top)

AUGUST 11, 2009

MMIAC Identifies Initial Beneficiaries Of Its Comprehensive Shelter Program

The Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC) has identified at least 5,000 squatter families as the initial beneficiaries of its Comprehensive Shelter Program (CSP), the newly-created body’s relocation project for informal settlers in Metro Manila.

In its first organizational meeting at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) last Monday, MMIAC also listed down priority areas for the implementation of the CSP, which were pre-identified by the MMDA and the National Housing Authority (NHA).

MMDA Chairman and concurrent MMIAC chair Bayani Fernando identified these priority areas as Damayan Lagi, 11th Street, and Sta. Cruz along San Juan River in Quezon City; barangays 177, 135, 178, 179, 180, 181, and 182, which cover Estero De Tripa De Galina in Pasay City; and Old Balara (West and East side) in Commonwealth Avenue; and Masambong and Manresa in Araneta Avenue, also in Quezon City.

There are a total of 3,290 families living in these identified areas, according to Fernando.

“We have selected these areas because they are located along the waterways, which are danger zones. Qualified informal settlers here will be given housing benefits based on the guidelines of the Comprehensive Shelter Program,” Fernando explained.

The NHA, under General Manager Federico Laxa who sits as vice-chair of MMIAC, also submitted to the committee 11 priority areas for relocation.

These are Buting, Pasig; Santolan, Mindanao Avenue, Balintawak, Quaipo, Nissan Tatalon, Pasay, Estero de Paco, R-10 Navotas, Market 3 Fishport of Navotas and Sta. Cruz.

Two thousand one hundred sixty-four families live in these communities, according to the NHA’s list.

The inter-agency committee convened last Monday to iron out the proposed implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Executive Order No. 803, which was signed by President Arroyo on May 21 formally creating MMIAC.

The E.0. directed MMIAC to “plan, coordinate and implement, in coordination with concerned government agencies, a comprehensive shelter program for informal settlers affected by government priority infrastructure projects and those living in danger areas within Metro Manila.”

With the MMDA chairman and NHA general manager sitting as chair and vice-chair, respectively, members of MMIAC include the Housing Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Office of the President-External Affairs, and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Fernando said the main objective of MMIAC is to provide shelter to informal settlers within a ten-year-period, thereby eradicating Metro Manila’s decades-old problem on squatting.

The MMDA chief said the committee, in providing housing to qualified beneficiaries, is looking into three types of relocation: “off-site relocation”, the transfer of an informal settler to another area of settlement; “on-site development”, the direct purchase of the lot occupied by the informal settlers for the purposes of upgrading; and the development of medium-rise buildings such as those in Vitas, Tondo.

Of the three options, Fernando said he prefers medium-rise housing, which does not require huge piece of land and can accommodate more occupants.

““There’s no other effective way but to build more tenements because we don’t want to bother Laguna and all other places outside Metro Manila in constructing relocation sites,” Fernando said.

He explained that tenement buildings such as those in Vitas do not require much space, unlike the conventional village-type relocation sites, and can still house more people compared to single-detached houses.

Citing his experiences in Marikina City where he had been a three-term mayor, Fernando said there is no need to give people big lots where they can build their own houses.

“In Marikina , the standard lot size is 24 square meters, which is already too big since the owners would build three- or four-storey apartments. It’s no use giving them lots because they’ll fill it up anyway,” the MMDA chief said.

There are currently 544,609 squatter families in Metro Manila, 73.29 percent or 399,110 of which are illegally occupying private and government-owned lands, according to MMIAC.

Another 6.46 percent or 35,198 are in areas affected by government priority projects, while 19.83 percent or 107,997 are living in danger areas, such as along creeks and other waterways. (back to top)

AUGUST 7, 2009

Mayor Belmonte Allows Continuous Usage Of QC-owned Lot For MMDA Flood Control Equipment

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte has allowed the continued use by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) of a city-owned lot being used by the agency as staging area for its flood control equipment.

Engr. Baltazar Melgar, head of the MMDA’s Flood Control Management Service, said Belmonte granted MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando’s proposed joint usage of the 4,232-square meter lot between the MMDA and the city government.

Melgar said the city government agreed that maintaining the MMDA’s flood control facilities and equipment at the subject property will directly benefit the residents of Quezon City.

“As far as we are concerned, this matter has already been resolved. The lot will now be jointly used both by the MMDA and the Quezon City government,” he pointed out.

Melgar stressed that there was never an agreement wherein the MMDA would have to pay a rental fee of P200,000 a month for the use of the lot, as alleged by Rolando Montiel, head of the city’s General Services Department.

Montiel claimed the MMDA owes the city government at least P6 million in rent since November 2006, when the 25-year agreement between Quezon City and the MMDA involving the use of the property supposedly expired.

The disputed lot is part of the 53,418-square meter property the city government bought from the Government Service Insurance System in 1961.

The property is located along Scout Reyes Street in Barangay Paligsahan and is being used by the MMDA’s First and Second Quezon City Flood Control Operations districts.

In a letter to Belmonte, Fernando said the location of the subject property is very strategic for fast and prompt deployment of manpower and equipment during emergency situations and regular field operations.

“All flood control equipment and personnel stationed thereat are assigned solely for the service of the residents of Quezon City,” the MMDA chief told Belmonte.

Fernando has written Belmonte in response to the city government’s notice for the MMDA to vacate the lot; he said the Authority does not have any property in Quezon City suited for relocating the flood control personnel and equipment. (back to top)

August 3, 2009

Joint Statement of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando & Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando

President Aquino: Beacon of freedom and faith

Two words are synonymous with Corazon C. Aquino: democracy and prayer. She assumed power almost reluctantly because she never sought it. But when events pushed her to stage-center, she became the incandescent symbol of freedom and democracy.

At a time when her country needed her most, she became the catalyst for change against a well-entrenched dictatorship. She provided the centripetal force that brought us closer together, and inspired every man, woman and child to defy the bayonet in the name of freedom and national concord.

In power, she did all she could to give Filipinos a second vital act in their lives—the attainment of justice, peace and prosperity after the tribulations of martial law. She strove to fulfill the dreams of her husband—Sen. Benigno Aquino—who died for the Filipino in pursuit of liberty. Cory and Ninoy: what started as a love story in Tarlac and Manila became a struggle for the masa on the national stage.

A series of rightist attempts to seize power troubled her government. Her administration limped under the inherited mistakes of the previous regime. She rallied the people once more, using political will and prayer. Her faith was always strong: there is a higher God Who will guide a leader and Who will listen to a people in their hour of need. Prayers sustained Cory all her life. And Filipinos prayed with her.

In our hour of grief, we pray for President Aquino and her family. We pray for the nation. May the youth be forever inspired by her life—born to privilege but devoted to the people; educated in private schools but exulted in public life. She was more than a political force; she was a moral force. And by living a life of simplicity and uprightness, she became a Teacher in Chief, showing us that every person could make a difference with personal courage, conviction and character.

Our family grieves with her loved ones and the nation. (back to top)

AUGUST 1, 2009

Estero De Maypajo Wall Collapses During Last Week's Heavy Rains

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has called anew for the removal of informal settlers living alongside the creeks and waterways in Metro Manila following the collapse of a portion of the retaining wall of Estero De Maypajo in Tondo, Manila , last week.

Flood Control Management Service (FCMS) head Engr. Baltazar Melgar said last Sunday’s incident, which took place at the height of a heavy rain and caused massive flooding within the estero’s immediate vicinities, is a continuing reminder of the need to free up the waterways of obstructions that constrict the flow of water.

“We cannot widen our creeks because of the presence of these informal settlers. For this to be done, we really have to relocate them,” Melgar explained.

He said the widening of Estero De Maypajo and other vital creeks is needed to increase the waterways’ capacity to carry huge volume of rainwater, especially during incessant downpour.

“Ang nangyari kasi, kumipot na nang kumipot ‘yung estero kaya hindi na kinakaya ‘pag malakas ang ulan, nagbabara na lang,” Melgar explained.

On the evening of July 26, continuous rains caused the overflowing of Estero De Maypajo, with the waters cascading down towards the direction of Abucay pumping station in Abucay Street.

But the floodwaters got stuck at a narrow point between Bagac and Limay streets. Unable to carry the weight of increasing volume of water, the walls on both sides of the creek gave in.

The floodwaters tore a five-meter diameter hole on the wall and toppled the steel railings on the other side.

With nothing to contain it, the avalanche of onrushing floodwaters, along with the accumulated debris and garbage, flowed down the Blumentritt Interceptor along Hermosa Street , causing it to overflow.

Melgar said hundreds of shanties and residences were submerged in flood as the nearby Abucay pumping station tried in vain to pump out the waters from the overflowing Blumentritt Interceptor, which collects waters coming from Sampaloc district.

“The presence of these informal settlers has been hampering our efforts to widen Estero De Maypajo,” the MMDA’s flood control chief said, adding that they have long ago sent notices to the squatters to voluntarily leave the area.

Squatters also dump their garbage to the estero, unmindful that it greatly contributes to the clogging of the waterway, Melgar said.

As to the collapsed wall, he said they have restored it immediately the following morning when the floods subsided. (back to top)

JULY 28, 2009

"Pamilihang Bayan" in Vitas, Tondo To Be Inaugurated Today By MMDA

In its continuing development of the Tondo district in Manila, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will inaugurate tomorrow, July 29, the public market it especially built for sidewalk vendors and store owners at the Vitas tenement area.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando will lead the inauguration of the “Pamilihan ng Bayani”, along with other agency executives, city government, barangay and National Housing Authority (NHA) officials, as well as leaders of local people’s organizations in Tondo and at Vitas Katuparan at 10 am.

“It is about time that vendors here at Vitas be given a market of their own, where they could do business and sell their wares without dirtying the surroundings and occupying the sidewalk and the roadway,” Fernando said.

Located alongside the rows of Vitas tenement buildings in R-10 road, the Pamilihan ng Bayani has 129 stalls and is provided with the necessary amenities, such electricity and water supply, for the benefit of vendors and market goers.

The mini-market, which the MMDA constructed using its own equipment and personnel, is divided into five sections: meat, fish, dry, cooked food and fruits and vegetables.

Fernando ordered the construction of the Vitas market last March after observing that the residents have appropriated the sidewalks and built various makeshift stalls and other illegal structures, which were not only eyesores but also the cause of traffic in the area.

Never wanting to deprive the poor residents of their livelihood, Fernando, after a series of dialogues with the residents and barangay officials, ordered that the place be thoroughly cleaned up, and that a market be put up in a nearby vacant lot where the vendors could be relocated.

Fernando also had the walkway leading to the market be improved, and that the place be provided with water and power supply.

“Rather than clogging the sidewalks, Vitas vendors now have a safe, clean, and organized place where they could freely do business while at the same time, we have improved traffic in the area and provided the residents equally cleaner and safer surroundings,” the MMDA chairman said.

Only last May, the MMDA installed streetlights along Moriones Street and Road 10 as part of its rehabilitation and facelift of the Tondo area.

Under the Tondo rehabilitation program is the “Tondominium” project of the MMDA to clean up, spruce, and rehabilitate the 27 tenement buildings in Vitas, the oldest government-owned tenement houses in the country.

Alongside this is the “Pook na Bulok, Negosyo at Kaibigan ‘Di Papasok” program of the MMDA, a series of road repair and infrastructure projects aimed at making Tondo a business-friendly and investor-attractive region.

This includes widening and major repair of R-10 and the clearing of side streets and peripheral roads such as Delpan, Dapitan, and Abucay, among others.

The MMDA has also recently opened its newest pumping station in Abucay, Tondo, to reduce the flooding in Manila ’s Sampaloc and Sta. Cruz districts. (back to top)

JULY 28, 2009

MMDA Gives Job To Former Street Dweller Who Was Featured On "The Probe Team"

One does not expect to find a celebrity (aside from Chairman Bayani Fernando, of course) among the thousands of employees of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

But lo and behold, there is one man working at the agency who had been featured on Che-che Lazaro’s “The Probe Team” not just once but twice.

His name is Victor Lacar.

His parents separated, he grew up with his father and three older siblings. When he was only eight years old, Victor walked away and gave up the comfort and security of his home in San Pedro, Laguna.

Confronted with family problems at a very young age, he chose to live on the sidewalks and under the bridges of Metro Manila. He worked odd jobs in order to put food in his empty stomach, knocked on car windows begging for a few centavos, and braved the dangerous streets of the metropolis.

This perhaps was what piqued the interest of veteran broadcast personality Che-che Lazaro.

One night, Victor was doing his usual job knocking on car windows along the Quezon City Memorial Circle. Unknowingly, he chanced upon the vehicle of Lazaro, and from then on, as they say, the rest is history.

“The Probe Team” aired Victor’s story along with a few of his friends, as street children and stow aways that abound in Metro Manila.

After the episode was shown, Lazaro brought the then-9 year old Victor in Nayon ng Kabataan, a shelter for street children. This would be the first of many half-way houses that the young boy would be in, as time after time, he’d ran away from these homes because he was no longer used to staying permanently at one place and he has grown unaccustomed to living a life with rules to follow.

Ten years after, in 1999, Victor returned to his family in San Pedro. During these periods, there were momentous events taking place on his life. He got married, had 2 children, was featured again on “The Probe Team”, given financial aid by Lazaro, (which he used to put up a sampaguita business) suffered bankruptcy, and was all alone again after his wife left him and took away his children.

A devastated Victor once again sought refuge in the metropolis. Not afraid of hardwork, he worked as a “magbobote”.

Lady luck smiled at him once more. On 2007, Lazaro saw him again on the street, and this time, she referred Victor to MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno, who immediately hired him. He has been working as a kaminero for two years now, previously assigned at the Office of the General Manager but is now stationed at the Property Supply Management Division Office.

When asked how his work stint at MMDA has improved his life, he said he’s very thankful because now he has a stable job and a monthly income to tide him over. Part of his salary, Victor says, goes to his children to support their studies.

“Ang pangarap ko lang naman ay makapagtapos ng kolehiyo ang mga anak ko at maiangat kahit paano ang mga buhay nila at ayokong matulad sila sa akin” (My only dream is for my children to finish their education and to improve their lives. I don’t want them to be like me), he quipped. He said that he is not proud of the roads he had taken but proudly shares that “kahit kailan hindi ako nagnakaw at gumawa ng masama. Ang tao pag ginusto magpakabuti pwede.” (Not once did I steal or resort to illegal activities. We can be good if we really want to).

Victor’s story is seemingly ordinary. But what appears to be a life of constant struggle, he stood his ground without breaking any law and without resorting to any illegal activities that are readily accessible on the streets where he grew up. He flexed his muscles, earned his way, and is now reaping the fruits of his hard labor. (back to top)

JULY 27, 2009

MMDA Denies Involvement In The Death of A Sidewalk Vendor In Quezon City

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) vehemently denied yesterday any involvement of its sidewalk clearing team in the reported death of a vendor during sidewalk-clearing operations in Quezon City last Sunday.

At the same time, MMDA sidewalk clearing operations group (SCOG) Director Roberto Esquivel said he’s more than willing to submit his men for investigation anytime that they are asked by the police to shed light on the reported incident.

“No problem. My men are at their beck and call anytime that the Quezon City Police District needs them to go through police line-up and full-dress investigation procedures,” he said.

Esquivel was reacting to an earlier newspaper report that MMDA personnel allegedly punched sidewalk vendor Carlito Oriasel during a confrontation at past 9 a.m. at the corner of Edsa and Congressional Ave., causing the victim to fall and hit his head.

He said that the clearing team that operated in the said area was a lean group tasked to clear all footbridges from Quezon City to Monumento in Caloocan City of illegal vendors.

The MMDA official further explained that when the SCOG team arrived at the Muñoz footbridge to clear the area of vendors, there was neither a commotion nor punching incident that ensued whatsoever during the operations except for an old lady vendor who had pelted the team’s service vehicle driver with stones asking that her gas stove that had been confiscated be returned to her.

Archie Rosales, 33. the group’s team leader, said he pacified the woman and gave back her stove and that the team then went straight to Monumento to scour other footbridges for illegal vendors.

Rosales went on to narrate that his team went back to the Muñoz footbridge at around 11 a.m. to check whether the vendors have returned to the site. Indeed, they have gone back to vend on the footbridge, but upon seeing our marked vehicle approaching the area, they scampered away.

“ Wala hong nangyaring punching incident kasi hindi na kami bumaba ng trak dahil takbuhan na ang mga vendors pagkakita sa aming sasakyan,” he said.

Esquivel hinted that the case could be a frame-up engineered by the vendors and other sectors who are adversely affected by the MMDA’s relentless efforts to restore order on the streets, sidewalks and other public places.

He also did not discount the possibility that Oriasel could have fell on the ground and hit his head on the pavement while fleeing away from the footbridge. (back to top)

JULY 26, 2009

Metro Manila Council Approves Re-Implementation of No Physical Contact Policy

The Metro Manila Council (MMC) has approved the re-implementation of the No Physical Contact Policy (NPCP) for six more months following its success in catching motorists on the act of committing traffic violations.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday that the MMC, composed of the 17 mayors in Metro Manila who serve as policy-making body of the MMDA, were convinced of the practicality of NPCP in apprehending traffic violators compared to manual ticketing which is more susceptible to corruption.
The MMC approved last January the 90-day experimental run of the NPCP - a revised version of the old Non-Contact Traffic Apprehension Program (NCTAP) – that employs the use of digital and closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in recording the violations being committed by motorists.
“NPCP is a modern system of traffic violation because this does not involve chasing the violator or the vehicle. Moreover, corruption is prevented because this scheme avoids the personal interaction of an erring driver and traffic enforcer,” Fernando said.
From February 17 to May 17, the Traffic Operations Center (TOC) recorded a total of 53,888 citations under the NPCP, or an average of 898 traffic tickets issued per day.
Fernando said the NPCP apprehensions represent 23 percent of 234,385 traffic citations made during the same three-month period.
Of the 53,888 NPCP apprehensions, 30,592 were committed by public utility vehicles (PUVs), while 23,296 were private vehicles.
Of the PUVs, 5,051 whose operators are known to the MMDA were immediately given notices of traffic violations.
“The rest of the apprehensions were coursed through the Land Transportation Office for verification as to names of the respective vehicle owners,” TOC Executive Director Angelito Vergel De Dios said.
In his report to the MMC, De Dios said 3,985 of the 5,051 sent notices were settled immediately, with the MMDA collecting P858,710 in traffic fines. This represents a high settlement rate of 79 percent.
“With what we have learned from the trial period, we believe that we can improve and utilize the NPCP scheme as one way of strengthening our apprehension efforts and imparting into the consciousness of the public, MMDA’s intent and capability to strictly enforce traffic rules as a means of exacting discipline and order, and most importantly as a measure of improving the traffic flow in the major roads,” De Dios said.
Under MMDA Resolution No. 09-02 approving the implementation of NPCP, a violator caught on camera will be sent a notice by the MMDA giving him/her seven days from receipt to pay his/her corresponding fines or appeal his/her apprehension for review.

The notice contains the image or photo clip of the vehicle while in the act of violating certain traffic rules, as well as the date, time, location and the nature of the traffic infraction.
After the lapse of the seven-day period and the notice has not been settled, the MMDA will sent a final notice to the erring violator informing him to immediately settle his or her citation ticket.
The MMDA will then forward the driver’s license number of the motorist to the LTO if payment has not been made after the receipt of the final notice.
The non-paying motorist will not be able to renew his/her driver’s license with the LTO in the future until he/she has paid his traffic dues. (back to top)

JULY 20, 2009

Traffic Cameras To Be Installed In Loading Bays and EDSA Intersections To Monitor Overstaying Buses

Cameras will soon be installed in every loading bay and intersection in Edsa to catch bus drivers who linger at loading/unloading zones beyond their allotted time.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando announced yesterday that the agency is studying plans to have the electronic timers and traffic signal lights in the loading bays and intersections equipped with cameras that will automatically activate once a public utility bus (PUB) at the head of the line refuses to go after exceeding the designated time for it to load and unload passengers.

“We are working on a system wherein the timers in the loading bays and intersection will have a camera that will automatically take photographs of buses once its time limit is over,” Fernando said.

Each photograph will serve as traffic violation receipt and will be charged to the erring bus driver under the MMDA’s Non-Contact Traffic Apprehension Program (NCTAP), according to Fernando.

“As long as that driver refuses to move forward when his maximum allowed time to load and unload passengers lapses, the camera will continuously take photograph of the bus, multiplying his violations over and over again,” the MMDA chief explained.

Fernando said he has come up with this idea following the arrests of three MMDA traffic enforcers at Edsa-Shaw Boulevard intersection who were caught by the agency’s Task Force Honesty Team (TFHT) receiving P20 bribes from bus drivers and conductors in exchange for letting them stay much longer to pick up passengers.

The arrests stemmed from complaints by motorists concerning the long queues of buses at the perennially clogged intersection, which were traced to the “overstaying” buses that are being tolerated by the mulcting traffic enforcers.

The MMDA, Fernando pointed out, is exploring all technological possibilities to eradicate corruption among its personnel and at the same time further speed up traffic on Metro Manila’s roads.

“With the proper technology, we can eliminate human supervision in our intersections and minimize the interaction of the traffic enforcers and the drivers, which is the root of these illegal under-the-table settlements,” he stressed.

Fernando said motorists and passengers themselves can also act as the MMDA’s “secret agents” by covertly taking photographs or video footages of illegal activities of the MMDA personnel that they see in the street.

These photographs and footages are a big help to the MMDA’s anti-corruption campaign, he said.

“We are encouraging the public to help us rid the MMDA of these corrupt traffic personnel by immediately reporting to us any illegal activity they happen to witness. We will gladly accept useful information you will provide to us,” Fernando said.

The MMDA has put up electronic timers at the bus loading bays in Edsa and other major thoroughfares and intersections to prevent buses from lingering too much in loading/unloading zones and terminals and congesting traffic flow.

The MMDA has so far put up 51 traffic surveillance cameras in Edsa alone under its Road Safety Surveillance System and Wireless Communications Backbone program.

The wireless cameras are linked to Metrobase, the MMDA’s command and communications center, for 24-hour traffic monitoring and emergency response.

Cameras have also been initially installed on key intersections Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard , Roxas Boulevard , Pasay Road, Ayala Avenue , Orense Street in Makati , Ortigas Avenue , Santolan Road , Aurora Boulevard, Timog and East Avenue , Quezon and North avenues , Roosevelt and Congressional avenue, Balintawak, Rizal Avenue , Elliptical Road , Philcoa and Kalayaan and Visayas avenues. (back to top)

JULY 17, 2009

Metro Manila Flooding Manageable Despite Tropical Storm Isang's Heavy Rains

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday said flooding in Metro Manila remained manageable despite the incessant rains brought about by tropical storm “Isang”.

MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno pointed out that roads remained passable as floodwaters were only gutter-deep; the floodwaters also quickly receded due to the agency’s continuous flood control efforts.

Nacianceno said Metro Manila’s drainage systems simply choked from the heavy volume of rainwater, which caused the floods.

“Walang baha na ‘di na-manage. In most areas, floodwaters quickly receded. The floodwaters in major thoroughfares were only gutter-deep,” Nacianceno explained.

Meanwhile, the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or the number coding scheme was lifted this noon, July 17, 2009.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando, who was in Iloilo for a speaking engagement yesterday morning, ordered the lifting of the UVVRP following the suspension of classes and work in government offices in Metro Manila.

Chairman Fernando said the UVVRP suspension would provide extra mobility to the motoring public during this time of inclement weather.

On Wednesday evening, the agency, in coordination with the city government of Taguig, sent emergency personnel and rubber boats in Puroks 1,2, and 3 of Barangay Lower Bicutan, where the creek overflowed due to continuous rains.

Informer settlers were immediately transferred to higher grounds, according to Nacianceno.

At the Edsa-Ayala tunnel in Makati City , the MMDA-Flood Control Management Service pinpointed the cause of the floods to clogged drainage mains.

Flood control personnel were sent immediately to the area and removed trash and food leftovers that have clogged the drainage.

“Nagka-trapik kasi nagkasabay-sabay uwian ng mga tao ‘nung suspended na klase at trabaho,” FCMS head Engr, Baltazar Melgar said.

At Maricaban area in Pasay City , the canal overflowed due to the ongoing construction of an MMDA floodgate.

“We were able to drain the floodwaters but the volume of floodwaters simply overwhelmed us. This caused the temporary flooding,” Nacianceno explained.

He said the agency has long put up the needed infrastructures and programs to address the problem on floods but without the full cooperation of the public, the goal of achieving a “flood-free” Metro Manila could not be realized in the near future.

“For years, we’re asking the people to cooperate by simply observing the proper disposal of garbage. We keep on clogging our drainage, throw everything in the street, and look what it has caused us – floods,” Nacianceno said.

The MMDA official also cited the problem on informal settlers.

According to the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC) which MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando heads, there are 544,000 squatter families in Metro Manila, 70,000 of which are situated in high-risk areas such as creeks and riverbanks.

Flooded areas

Incessant rains brought by tropical storm “Isang” submerged many parts of Metro Manila yesterday morning, according to reports from the MMDA-Metrobase.

As of 1 am Friday, 15 centimeter-deep floodwaters inundated Edsa Central Terminal, Balintawak (Cloverleaf to Caltex), Ayala tunnel, and Tramo Taft areas.

At 3:32 am Friday, Araneta Avenue , from E. Rodriguez to Maria Clara, was submerged by gutter-deep flood. The road was impassable to all types of vehicles until an hour later, when the floodwaters receded.

In Manila , España Boulevard , especially the intersection of Lacson, Antipolo, and Dapitan, were also flooded but remained passable to vehicles.

Traffic was reported heavy from Kamuning Road to Boni Serrano Avenue in Quezon City and along Makati ’s Ayala Avenue , and along C-5 Road/Katipunan area in Quezon City and from Bagong Ilog in Pasig City to Kalayaan Avenue in Makati .

Metrobase said the traffic congestion worsened following the announcement of suspension of classes and work in government offices as students and workers went out in the streets to go home.

As of press time, floods have receded, according to Metrobase. (back to top)

July 14, 2009

Three MMDA Traffic Enforcers Face Dismissal

Three traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) are facing dismissal after they were caught receiving bribe money from bus drivers at the Edsa-Shaw Boulevard intersection in Makati City .

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando ordered the arrests of TEs Ricky Cureg, Giovani Molina, and Philip Roberto, all members of the Edsa Traffic Enforcement Unit.

Fernando also ordered the immediate dismissal from the service of the three erring traffic enforcers, pointing out that the MMDA will never tolerate such illegal activities that only serve to taint the good image the agency has painstakingly earned.

“Extorting or receiving bribe money is a very serious offense that deserves no amount of leniency. The MMDA has been in the forefront of promoting honesty and hard work in government service, so we have no room for this kind of traffic enforcers,” the MMDA chief stressed.

The arrests of Cureg, Molina, and Roberto stemmed from a series of covert surveillance operations initiated by the newly-created Task Force Honest Team (TFHT) at the service road of Edsa-Shaw Boulevard or the “Crossing Ibabaw” intersection from June 20 to 25.

TFHT is composed of selected members of the MMDA’s Intelligence and Investigation Unit (IIU) of the Traffic Operations Center TOC, Traffic Enforcement Group (TEG), Road Clearing Group (RCG), and the Office of the General Manager (OGM).

MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno and TOC Executive Director Angelito Vergel De Dios ordered TFHT to check the area after receiving reports of the still unabated extortion activities at Crossing Ibabaw service road.

According to team leader PO2 Rizal Pascual, the three traffic enforcers were caught on camera receiving P20 from each passenger bus as “fee” for being allowed to stay much longer at the service road to pick up passengers.

The collection racket has been blamed for the perennial traffic jam at the service road of Edsa-Shaw Boulevard as buses - right under the noses of traffic enforcers - have been allowed to stay longer and block the intersection.

In separate cases, the MMDA-Legal Service is also set to summon three more traffic enforcers after they were seen by surveillance cameras receiving money from PUV drivers along Marcos Highway and on Santolan Road near SM Marikina.

Legal Service chief Emmanuel De Castro said administrative charges have been filed against Bernardo Laroco, Antonio Ibanez, and Mario Bumagat, all permanent employees assigned to the Eastern Traffic District of the TOC.

“We will never stop going after these mulcting personnel because they paint a bad image of the agency. We will never tolerate these illegal activities,” De Castro said. (back to top)

JULY 9, 2009

PGMA To Lead Abucay Pumping Station Inauguration Tomorrow July 10, 2009

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will lead tomorrow, July 10, the inauguration of the Abucay pumping station in Tondo, Manila, the latest flood control facility of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

President Arroyo will formally conduct the ceremonial switch on of the pumping station at 11 am, together with MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, congressmen of Manila , as well as city councilors, barangay officials and other local officials.

The school administrators of different colleges and universities at the University Belt Area, particularly the University of Santo Tomas (UST), and other people’s groups and local business organizations in Manila are also expected to attend the ceremonies.

The Abucay pumping station facility is located along Abucay Street in Tondo, adjacent to the Estero de Maypajo.

Fernando said the Abucay facility will significantly reduced flooding in the Sampaloc district.

“With our Abucay pumping station, we expect to further lessen the flooding along Espana, Dimasalang, and the whole Sampaloc area,” Fernando emphasized.

The newly-built flood pumping facility is the MMDA’s continuing response to the perennially flooded Sampaloc area, a 265-hectare residential, commercial, and educational area 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 Fernando.

The Abucay station will pump out floodwaters that pass through the 2.9-kilometer Blumentritt Interceptor, a series of culverts that collect floodwaters coming from Quezon City , particularly during heavy rains and high tides.

First conceptualized in October 2007, the Abucay pumping station was built at a 630-square meter land purchased by the MMDA.

The pumping station has three axial-type pumps, each of which has a capacity of 2.0 cubic meters per second. (back to top)

July 9, 2009

MMDA Plans to Set Up Concrete Dividers in EDSA to Confine PUBs in Bus Lane

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is planning to erect concrete dividers along the entire stretch of Edsa to confine public utility buses (PUBs) within the yellow lanes.

The MMDA’s Traffic Engineering Center (TEC) said yesterday that these “separators” will prevent errant PUBs from going out of the yellow lanes, where they are supposed to stay, and slow down traffic in the inner lanes that are reserved for private vehicles and other public utility vehicles.

The separators – concrete strips that are high enough to prevent PUBs from leaving the yellow lanes – are currently being experimented on the portion of Edsa from Guadalupe to Estrella.

“We have noticed that despite our strict prohibition, bus drivers still get out of the yellow lanes whenever they have the chance to do so. So we have put up these separators which will serve as the yellow lane fence,” MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando explained.

Yellow lanes are the outermost lanes in Edsa that the MMDA has designated exclusively for provincial and city buses.

Aside from buses, Fernando said the separators will also keep away private vehicles from the yellow lanes.

Since the construction of separators at the Guadalupe-Estrella portion of Edsa, Fernando has noted a marked improvement in traffic at the area.

Fernando said big, slow-moving buses can no longer swerve in and out of the yellow lanes and distract the traffic flow in the inner lanes, which is one of the main causes of traffic breakdowns in Edsa.

“With these separators, private vehicles can now travel along Edsa without being slowed down by buses that mix with them in the inner lanes,” the MMDA chief said, adding that they may implement the scheme throughout the entire stretch of Edsa.

Fernando said the yellow lane separators will be properly marked with reflectorized cones and collapsible bollards to prevent accidents.

The separators is the latest traffic-alleviating measure of the MMDA in Edsa, where it has put up numerous bus loading bays and footbridges and installed traffic cameras for 24-hour traffic and emergency monitoring.

Fernando said travel speed along Edsa has recently improved from an average of 19 kilometers-per-hour (kph) to 38.66 kph, especially following the opening of the twin elevated U-turn interchanges in C-5/Kalayaan Avenue in Makati City . (back to top)

JULY 3, 2009

Sec. Fernando Announces Eight Official Entries in 35th MMFF

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando announced yesterday the eight official entries in the 35th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) this December.

Emerging from a deliberation with MMFF Executive Committee and Selection Screening Committee, Fernando, the concurrent MMFF Philippines Over-all Chairman, said the eight selected screenplays are the most star-studded film projects ever to be shown in the history of the annual film festival with Dolphy, Sharon Cuneta, Kris Aquino, Vic Sotto, Marian Rivera, Bong Revilla and boxing champ Manny Pacquiao topping the list of lead stars in this year’s festival.

The eight finalists, selected from 11 entries submitted to the MMFF Secretariat, are:

1. Ang Darling Kong Aswang (Octoarts/Vic Sotto
(Reluctant vampire Falls for a half breed vampire)

2. Ikaw Na Nga (Star Cinema/Kris Aquino)
(Daughter finds her roots and true love)

3. Juan (RVQ Productions/Dolphy)
(Vaudeville veteran reconciles with family and friends through a TV Show)

4. Mano Po 6 (Regal Entertainment/Sharon Cuneta)
(Filipino-Chinese Family drama)

5. Nieves (Regal Entertainment, APT Production/Marian Rivera)
(Adventures of a beautiful Engkantolera)

6. Panday (GMA Films, Imus Productions/Bong Revilla)
(Folklore hero returns)

7. Shake, Rattle & Roll 11 (Regal Entertainment/Ruffa Gutierrez)
(Horror trilogy on its 11th edition)

8. Wapakman (Solar Films/Manny Pacquiao/Nicole Scherzinger)
(Ordinary father becomes a super hero)

The three other entries that were reviewed by the MMFF Selection Committee were “Daniel Rapido” of FCJ Film Production, “2999 A Love Story” of Unitel, and “I Love You Goodbye” of Star Cinema.

“This year’s entries have all the critical elements that could launch a box-office hit,” Fernando said as he expressed great satisfaction and confidence that the varied mix of films to be presented in December will be a crowd drawer in the film festival.

Fernando stressed that the submitted screenplays represent a mixture of film genre – comedy, horror, drama, and fantasy – that are expected to attract and increase the viewership of the yearly festival.

The eight chosen entries were judge based on the following criteria: story, creativity, writing excellence, innovativeness, thematic value and global appeal (40%), commercial viability (50%) and Filipino cultural and/or historical value (10%).

“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 35th MMFF will be shown from December 25, 2009 to January 10, 2010. This year’s Awards Night is scheduled on December 28.

Fernando conveyed his confidence that this year’s film festival will earn the targeted gross revenue of P500 million. In the 2008 MMFF, revenues reached P450 million.

Amusement taxes generated during the festival are distributed to the MMFF beneficiaries, namely the MOWELFUND, Film Academy of the Philippines , Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy Council, Film Development Council, Optical Media Board and the Office of the Presidential Social Fund.

Members of the MMFF Selection/Screening Committee are Julie Borje as chairperson, Roesholm Camaligan of SM Cinemas, Manuel Nuqui of the Philippine Movie Producers Association, Wilson Tieng of the Motion Picture Distributors Association of the Philippines, Dominic Du of Metro Manila Theatre Association, Dere Pedero of the Philippine Star, Victor Villegas of the Greater Manila Theatre Association, Marietta Tamondong of the Office of the Presidential Social Fund, Malacañang; Joey Romero of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Marcus Ng of the National Cinema and Theatre Association of the Philippines, Bayani San Diego of the Philippine Inquirer, Digna Santiago of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Tieng, who owns Solar Films that produced Wapakman, inhibited himself in the deliberation of the scripts. (back to top)

JULY 2, 2009

MMDA-LTO Interconnectivity System To Start on July 15, 2009

Taking a tougher stand against habitual traffic violators, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced yesterday that those with unsettled traffic citations will no longer be able to renew their motor vehicle registration without the agency’s clearance.

Starting July 15, the MMDA and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will start the functional testing of its much improved interconnectivity system that allows both agencies to exchange information about drivers with long pending traffic tickets.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the MMDA will now be able to upload on the Internet – for LTO’s reference – the license plates of vehicles owned by motorists with unsettled traffic violations with the MMDA.

“When the driver has unsettled traffic violations with the MMDA, he cannot renew his motor vehicle registration with the LTO. He has to go to us, pay his traffic fines, and then it will only be the time that we will remove him from our alarm list,” Fernando explained.

Fernando said this new system will especially prevent operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs), particularly buses, from applying for renewal of their vehicle registrations unless they encourage their drivers to immediately settle their traffic violations with the MMDA.

Bus drivers have so far been the most habitual traffic offenders in Edsa and other major thoroughfares, who would only apply for a duplicate driver’s license in lieu of the original one confiscated by MMDA traffic enforcers to escape payment of his previous fines.

The MMDA-LTO interconnectivity project was launched early last year to improve the two agencies’ collection of traffic fines, a major source of income for the government.

At present, the MMDA can only forward the names of drivers with unsettled traffic violation fines to the LTO. This prevents erring drivers from renewing their driver’s licenses.

The project uses the MMDA-Integrated Law Enforcement System (ILES), an Internet-based facility that allows the MMDA to interconnect with the online system of the Department of Transportation and Communications and LTO.

The new information technology platform has also greatly improved the MMDA and the LTO’s coordination on traffic matters, particularly in the strict implementation of traffic laws and violations, Fernando said. (back to top)

JULY 1, 2009

Sec. Fernando Gets Support From Gubat Sorsogon Barangay Officials

Support for the presidential bid of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando continue to spread across the country with the recent resolution passed by the barangay officials in Gubat, Sorsogon urging Lakas-KAMPI-CMD to pick the indomitable MMDA chair as the party’s standard-bearer in the presidential elections next year.

The Liga Ng Mga Barangay of the municipal town of Gubat said Fernando’s leadership qualities and his unsurpassed achievements in Marikina City and in MMDA “will help him in good stead when elected as our next President in 2010.”

“Chairman Bayani Fernando is a loyal card-carrying cadre of Lakas-CMD, displaying unwavering loyalty to his party where other members have already jumped ship at the drop of a hat,” the barangay chairmen of Gubat said in strongly recommending to Lakas-KAMPI-CMD national leadership and the Office of the President that Fernando be the administration party’s standard-bearer.

Signed by the chairmen of Gubat’s 42 barangays and their president Nelson Quinones, the Liga Ng Mga Barangay’s resolution cited Fernando’s political will and his achievements as mayor of Marikina, especially in clearing the city of informal settlers, increasing by twenty-fold the city’s revenues, implementing various infrastructure projects without the need for private contractors, and improving the tax collection efficiency rate of the city government.

“The city of Marikina under the leadership of Chairman Bayani Fernando and his wife Mayor Marides Fernando has won eight Galing Pook awards since 1992 for all its improvements, plus numerous other awards,” the resolution stated.

“Resolved, as it is hereby resolved to strongly recommend MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando to be the standard-bearer of merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD in the forthcoming presidential election in May 2010,” it concluded.

“Lahat ng imposible, ginawa niyang posible. Sana mapatupad din itong kaayusan na sinimulan niya sa buong bansa,” Quinones, for his part, said.

Gubat is the third largest town in Sorsogon with a 2007 population of 55,501. Famous for its white sand beaches, Gubat’s economy largely depends on agriculture and fishing.

Gubat’s expression of support to Fernando came only a few weeks after the municipal council of Kalibo, Aklan declared him as an “adopted son” for coming to the aid of the town during the typhoon "Frank" last year.

Passed by the 11-member municipal council, the resolution also recognized Fernando and MMDA personnel for their "gestures of sympathy and assistance to the people of Kalibo."

"It would be a source of pride and inspiration for Kalibonhons to have an adopted son in the person of Chairman Bayani Fernando who is a dynamic leader and a man of vision who swiftly executes his mission to deliver effective public service," the resolution said.

On June 25, 2008, Fernando sent a relief mission four days after tropical storm "Frank" battered Kalibo, destroying millions of pesos worth of properties and causing massive flooding in the town. (back to top)

JUNE 30, 2009

MMDA Starts Pilot-Testing Of OBR Program on July 25, 2009

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will make a giant technological leap on July 25 as it finally starts the pilot-testing of its fully automated Organized Bus Route (OBR) program.

Traffic Operations Center (TOC) Executive Director Angelito Vergel De Dios said the enhanced OBR system will be initially tested on four bus terminals in Metro Manila – Baclaran, Alabang, Malabon and Fairview .

Each OBR terminal is fitted with two readers of Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), microchip tracking devices that were installed on about 2,600 buses operating in Metro Manila.

“Initially, we will start on four terminals, preferably along Edsa. We have installed servers there that will be able to track and record RFID-equipped buses passing through our OBR terminals,” De Dios said.

OBR, introduced by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando in 2003, is the regulated dispatch of buses from designated terminals so as to control the number of buses clogging Edsa and other major thoroughfares. Buses are fielded on intervals, depending on passenger volume in certain areas.

Over the years, the OBR has gone major improvements, from numbered cards manually issued to each bus on various checkpoints to the recent introduction of RFID.

Explaining the mechanics of the fully automated OBR, De Dios said that once a bus enters an OBR terminal, its entry will be recorded by the RFID reader. Each bus is given five- to 10-minute intervals to load or unload passengers.

Each bus’ exit from the terminal is controlled by Metrobase, the MMDA’s command and communication center in Guadalupe, Makati City , which will dispatch the buses depending on the current traffic condition along the buses’ routes.

De Dios said the RFID-equipped buses will be continuously tracked by Metrobase until they pass through the next designated loading bays. An OBR terminal/loading is also equipped with cameras connected to Metrobase.

“There’s no escape here. Once a bus enters an OBR terminal, it will be required to go to the next loading bay. The RFID will keep track of all its movements,” he explained.

The RFID will keep a record of the buses’ entry and exit from terminals. At the end of the day, the MMDA will be able to determine if an erring bus driver bypasses a certain terminal, which constitutes an OBR violation that has a corresponding fine of P1,000, according to De Dios.

De Dios said plans are also being studied to include provincial buses, and possibly jeepneys, in the fully automated OBR program.

The OBR program, especially its RFID component, has also helped the MMDA identify colorum buses since only legitimate and duly franchised buses are given RFID chips.

There are more than 3,000 buses plying Edsa every day, making an estimated 32,000 trips daily.

The automated OBR was conceptualized to complement the installation of traffic surveillance cameras throughout Metro Manila under the MMDA’s Road Safety Surveillance System and Wireless Communications Backbone.

The wireless cameras are linked to Metrobase for 24-hour traffic monitoring as well as determine traffic buildups and the needed number of buses to be deployed on Edsa and other major roads.

The cameras have been initially installed on key intersections of Edsa, Macapagal Boulevard , Roxas Boulevard , Pasay Road, Ayala Avenue , Orense Street in Makati , Ortigas Avenue , Santolan Road , Aurora Boulevard, Timog and East Avenue , Quezon and North Avenue , Roosevelt and Congressional Avenue, Balintawak, Rizal Avenue , Elliptical Road , Philcoa and Kalayaan and Visayas Avenues. (back to top)

27 JUNE 2009

Medium-Rise Tenement Buildings: Practical Resettlement For Metro Manila's Homeless Families

High-density housing such as the medium-rise tenement buildings in Vitas, Tondo is the most viable solution to address Metro Manila’s age-old problem on informal settlers, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando said.

Fernando, concurrent chair of the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC), believes that tenement-type apartment building is the most practical means of providing resettlement to Metro Manila’s homeless families.

At the latest count of MMIAC, there are currently 544,000 squatter families – 70,000 of whom are living on high-risk places such as creek and riversides – that needed to be relocated, according to Fernando.

“There’s no other effective way but to build more tenements because we don’t want to bother Laguna and all other places outside Metro Manila in constructing relocation sites,” Fernando said at the Forestry Development Center of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna, where he was invited to speak in a forum concerning land use development and management of informal settlers.

Fernando explained that tenement buildings such as those in Vitas do not require much space, unlike the conventional village-type relocation sites, and can still house more people compared to single-detached houses.

Citing his experiences in Marikina City where he had been a three-term mayor, Fernando said there is no need to give people big lots where they can build their own houses.

“In Marikina , the standard lot size is 24 square meters, which is already too big since the owners would build three- or four-storey apartments. It’s no use giving them lots because they’ll fill it up anyway,” the MMDA chief said.

At MMIAC’s projections, Fernando explained that to house 544,000 informal settlers in a ten-year-period, they need to construct 305 houses a day or 30,859 units per year over the current production of 30,141 units.

But the problem is that Metro Manila and the nearby provinces are fast becoming crowded to be able to find idle lands to put up relocation sites, he stressed.

“To build 305 houses a day is a big problem, more so on where to put them,” Fernando said.

It is for this reason, he pointed out, they are presently renovating and cleaning up the 27 tenement buildings in Vitas, Tondo to serve as a model community for future relocation sites.

“The MMDA is now sprucing up the place kasi talagang napakasama. All the house occupancy rules seemed to have all been violated,” Fernando said in describing the current condition of the tenement buildings in Vitas.

“We want to show to everybody that high-density living such as these tenements is still a viable concept. And the only thing that we need after doing all these… is that we can show the world that what we really need is simply political will,” Fernando added. (back to top)

19 JUNE 2009

PRESS STATEMENT

Stop political dynasties - Fernando

SAYING that no family has a monopoly of talent to run the government, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando yesterday pushed for the vigorous implementation of the constitutional prohibition on political dynasty.

“Political dynasties should be prohibited in our country. The 1987 Constitution prohibits political dynasty,” Fernando pointed out.

Article 2, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution states: “ The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”

Fernando cited a recent study by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism which should that two-thirds of the members of Congress are from political dynasties. They include, among others, the Josons of Nueva Ecija, Magsaysay and Gordons of Zambales, Romans and Garcias of Bataan, Singsons of Ilocos Sur, Garcias and Osmeñas of Cebu, Zubiris of Bukidnon, Cojuangcos of Tarlac, Negros Occ. and Pangasinan, Aquinos of Tarlac, and the Marcoses of Ilocos Norte.

The family of President Arroyo has also been accused of building a political dynasty. The President’s two sons, Mikey and Dato Arroyo are incumbent congressmen. Also sitting as members of the House are the President’s brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

For generations, Fernando pointed out, the same wealthy families have dominated Philippine politics.

“These 75 percent of present elected public officials succeeded their grandfathers, fathers, mothers, brothers or sisters who either died or who opted to run for other positions to circumvent the constitutional prohibition on term limits for elected positions in the government,” Fernando said.

Fernando admitted that political dynasty has its pros and cons, “but the bottomline is it is prohibited by the Constitution.”

The real problem, Fernando pointed out, is weak political system where patronage politics is endemic.

Political dynasties, he added, weaken the rule of law because they perpetuate local power structure that are not open to peaceful competition and to real accountability.

“Its end results are vote-buying and intimidation and cheating during election time, subverting the will of the people and stifling the rise of a real opposition,” he added.

Fernando also noted that after the fall of Marcos, there were efforts in Congress to address the problem but failed because majority of the incumbent lawmakers , in one way or another, belong to political dynasties.

Fernando said that as long as members of political dynasties remain in office, it is almost impossible to legislate laws that would address the political problem, which, he pointed out, is symptomatic of the socio-economic inequalities in the country.

The solution, Fernando stressed, lies in the hands of the electorate who should have the will to stand up for what is just and right to effect the real reforms and change the people has long aspired. (back to top)

19 JUNE 2009

PRESS STATEMENT

Fernando dares Big Three to open book of accounts

METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando yesterday insisted the “Big Three” oil companies should comply with the order of a Manila Regional Trial Court (TRC) to

have their books of accounts scrutinized by concerned government agencies to determine if they had been overpricing their petroleum products.

Fernando expressed suspicion on the refusal of the Big Three to open their book of account, saying that there is no reason for them not to comply with the court order and with their reassurance to the House of Representatives that if their increases were based on international market forces.

“If they are not hiding something from the public, I dare the Big Three oil companies to open their book of accounts,” he stressed.

Fernando made the call following a series of oil price increases by Caltex Philippines, Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell and by other oil players in the past several weeks, allegedly due to rising crude oil prices in the world market.

“The public deserves to know how they arrived at their adjustment figures in a language ordinary people can understand,” Feranando said. “It is incumbent upon oil industry players to explain to the public issues that touch their day-to-day lives.”

Fernando noted that the transportation sector has already raised a complaint on the questionable increases and plans to file a formal petition for a fare hike increase.

Fernando also called on the Department of Energy-Department of Justice (DoE-DoJ) Task Force on Oil Deregulation to conduct an investigation to ensure that consumers are fully protected against “predatory pricing” amid pronouncements by oil firms that another price increase is in the offing because of upward trend of oil prices in international market.

The Manila RTC Branch 26 presiding Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr., in a three-page decision, had earlier directed the Commission on Audit, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs to examine the books of accounts of the Big Three to include their “cash, receipts, cash-disbursement books, purchase orders on petroleum products, delivery receipts, sales invoices and other related documents on the purchases of the petroleum products.”

Representatives of the oil firms have earlier agreed before members of the House Committee on Energy that they would open their book of accounts.

But to date, the oil firms have not complied with the court order and with their agreement with the House energy committee.

Instead, the Shell legal counsel, lawyer Jannet Regalado, questioned the legality and validity of a Manila regional trial court order to have the book of accounts of the big three oil companies scrutinized by government agencies to determine if they are engaged in monopoly and predatory pricing or cartelization, claiming that the order was “patently contrary to law.”

Section 11 of RA 8479 or the Downstream Deregulatin Act of 1988 prohibits cartelization among oil firms for the purpose of fixing prices of petroleum products, restrict outputs or divide markets or allocate markets, in restraint of trade or free competition. (back to top)

JUNE 19, 2009

Sec. Fernando Urges Maynilad To Restore Water Supply In Vitas, Tondo

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is urging the Maynilad Water Services, Inc. to restore full water supply to the residents of Vitas tenement houses in Tondo, Manila .

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, in a meeting with Maynilad officials, said Vitas residents need not suffer from water shortage only because the water services company is losing much from illegal water connections in the area.

Coming in defense of the poor Vitas residents, Fernando stressed that Maynilad should not pass the burden to its customers. Instead, the company should come up with ways to solve this problem of water pilferage.

“Why do the people have to suffer from the company’s systems loss? Bakit po-problemahin ng tao ‘yun? They should be provided with sufficient water supply,” the MMDA chief said.

Always with a big heart for the poor and the underprivileged, Fernando found out in a recent inspection of the Vitas tenement buildings that water from the pipelines could not reach the units in the upper floors because of low water pressure.

As a result, residents use drums to store water, which, aside from taking up much space, are unsightly and often serve as breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

“Water is a basic need of the people,” the MMDA chief, noting that Vitas residents could not be educated about the importance of cleanliness and personal hygiene without sufficient supply of water for themselves.

Fernando promised to help the estimated 1,000 families living at the 27 medium-rise tenement buildings in Vitas as he announced that he has gotten the approval of the Manila Water Works and Sewerage System (MWSS) to help in the repair and rehabilitation of the waterlines at Vitas and provide the residents an uninterrupted 24-hour water supply.

The MMDA’s aim to provide 24-hour supply to the Vitas tenement houses is part of the agency’s “Tondominium” project, which seek to rehabilitate, repair, and beautify the tenement houses in Vitas as well as the entire Tondo area.

The MMDA has installed along the stretch of Moriones Street , R-10, and other dimly-lit areas in Tondo.

Fernando said the streetlights will not only give comfort and safety to pedestrians and motorists at nighttime but also serve as testament to the agency’s commitment to provide Tondo residents a community they can be proud of.

“With this street lights project, we’re hoping to erase the stigma that Tondo is all crimes and squatters. This is only the start, with the cooperation of everybody, Tondo will soon become a model community,” Fernando said.

The MMDA is also putting up a public market in Tondo for local street hawkers, as well as a covered sports complex, Fernando said.

Alongside the Tondo project is the “Pook na Bulok, Negosyo ‘Di Papasok” program of the MMDA, a series of road repair and infrastructure projects aimed at making Tondo a business-friendly and investor-attractive region.

Part of this is the widening and major repair of R-10 and the clearing of side streets and peripheral roads such as Delpan, Dapitan, and Abucay, among others, according to Fernando.

He added the MMDA has also recently opened its newest pumping station in Abucay, Tondo, to reduce the flooding in Manila ’s Sampaloc and Sta. Cruz districts. (back to top)

JUNE 16, 2009

Kalibo Municipal Council Declares Sec. Fernando As Adopted Son

For his "personal sacrifices and services" to the people of Kalibo, Aklan, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando has been declared as an adopted son by the municipal council of the provincial capital.

In a unanimous motion, the municipal council of Kalibo passed on Friday Resolution No. 2009-61 recognizing Chairman Fernando and the men and women of the MMDA for their "gestures of sympathy and assistance to the people of Kalibo."

"It would be a source of pride and inspiration for Kalibonhons to have an adopted son in the person of Chairman Bayani Fernando who is a dynamic leader and a man of vision who swiftly executes his mission to deliver effective public service," the resolution signed by the 11-member municipal council and approved by Kalibo mayor Raymar Rebaldo read.

Municipal officials particularly praised Fernando for sending a relief mission to Kalibo on June 25, 2008, four days after tropical cyclone "Frank" hammered the town, destroying crops, properties, cutting off power and communication lines and causing massive flooding.

Rebaldo said Fernando immediately approved his request for assistance, sending a 135-strong MMDA rescue and relief assistance group and 27 heavy equipment to help in the clearing and reconstruction of the storm-ravaged town.

"The arrival of the MMDA contingent who came all the way from Manila is the first and most visible technical working group of the many agencies that extended assistance to Kalibo, thus, their presence gave hope and rekindled the sagging spirits of the town folks," the resolution stated.

Not contended in merely sending MMDA work crews, Fernando visited Kalibo on July 2, 2008 to check on the ongoing relief efforts.

The municipal resolution said Fernando’s visit was unannounced and when he emerged from the Mayor’s Office, "Chairman Fernando was graciously applauded by municipal officials, employees and residents."

Rebaldo conveyed his personal gratitude and appreciation for the personal sacrifices and services rendered by the MMDA workers and to the "kind-hearted" Fernando.

For his part, Fernando expressed his appreciation to the municipal government of Kalibo for having the honor of being an adopted son of the town.

While he stressed that the MMDA is not seeking any recognition for doing its job and extending aid to those in need, Fernando nevertheless said he is thankful to Mayor Rebaldo and the municipal councilors.

"’Thank you’ may not be enough. This is a true honor not just for me but also to the entire agency. As long as we can, as long as we are capable, we can be anywhere in the country to help," Fernando said.

The MMDA chairman added the accolades should not be his alone as he remembered the hard work and determination shown by the MMDA men who went to Kalibo.

The MMDA contingent was stranded in Mindoro for two days due to the unavailability of vessels that would ferry them to Kalibo.

"All of these would be nothing if not for the sacrifices of our MMDA personnel. They also deserved to be praised and thanked upon for a very, very good work," Fernando said. (back to top)

15 JUNE 2009

Sec. Fernando Leads Legarda Footbridge Inauguration

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando led the inauguration yesterday of the recently completed pedestrian footbridge in Legarda, Manila even as he announced that additional funding has already been set aside for the bridge’s expansion.

Fernando said two more spans or sections will be added to the present single-span footbridge the MMDA has built across Legarda Street near the corner of Mendiola, which is part of the University Belt area.

“We are proud to announce that we have come up with funds to construct the phase two of this footbridge. With a U-type footbridge, we will be totally eliminating pedestrian crossing in the Legarda/Mendiola/Recto intersection,” Fernando said during the inauguration ceremonies of the newly-constructed footbridge.

With the footbridge’s planned expansion, Fernando said they are expecting a significant improvement in traffic condition at the busy intersection as vehicles will be able to move unhampered by thousands of crossing pedestrians, most of whom are students of the Centro Escolar University (CEU), La Consolacion College, College of the Holy Spirit and San Beda College.

Fernando said he is hoping that the students will be able to make good use of the footbridge as well as the mini-park and walkway the MMDA has built alongside a creek beside San Beda College, which leads to the Legarda station of the LRT 2 line.

“Ang footbridge na ito ay alay namin sa inyong mga mag-aaral. Nawa’y pagyamanin niyo ito at magamit ng buong kasiyahan,” Fernando told the students and school officials who came to witness the inauguration of the Legarda footbridge.

Meanwhile, Manila mayor Alfredo Lim conveyed his gratitude to the MMDA for hearing the city government’s request to build an overpass at the critical intersection of Legarda and Mendiola.

Lim said he made the request to Fernando last year following numerous accidents involving students getting hit by vehicles while crossing the intersection.

“Ang pamahalaang lungsod ng Maynila ay taos-pusong nagpapapasalamat at sumasaludo kay Chairman Fernando sa pagdinig niya sa karaingan ng ating mga mag-aaral,” Lim said in his brief speech, praising Fernando’s immediate response to their request.

Lim said the city government did not have enough funds then to build a pedestrian overpass so he did not hesitate asking the MMDA’s assistance.

He said he was not disappointed.

Fernando said part of the pedestrian footbridge project is the mini-park the MMDA is building at the corner of Mendiola and Legarda, which he said can be used by the students for their activities.

The MMDA had cleaned and landscaped the small lot, cleaned the nearby creek and put up a walkway towards Legarda station of LRT 2.

“This is some kind of a Freedom Park . They can have concerts here, picnics… And with the walkway, they are assured of safe walk to and from the LRT station,” Fernando said, noting that the sidewalk of Legarda is too narrow to hold thousands of students and pedestrians. (back to top)

JUNE 14, 2009

MMDA Opens Newly Constructed Pedestrian Footbridge In Legarda, Manila

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will inaugurate tomorrow (June 15) its newly-constructed pedestrian footbridge in Legarda Avenue in Manila as part of its continuing physical reconstruction of the old University Belt area.

The footbridge will particularly benefit students of Centro Escular University , Arellano University and San Beda College and is expected to improve traffic condition along the busy Legarda Avenue .

“With the pedestrians, especially the students, having their own footbridge to cross on, we are optimistic that we can speed up traffic along Legarda Avenue . With less obstruction, vehicles will be able to move faster,” MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said.

The crossover-type steel footbridge, built in just 40 days, was completed in time for the school opening of most universities and colleges at the U-Belt area.

Fernando said more traffic furniture and improvement projects will be put up at the U-Belt area for the safety and convenience of thousands of students, motorists and pedestrians.

Fernando is envisioning the U-Belt area into a “UniverCity”, a world-class community for students comparable with the best in neighboring countries.

The MMDA chairman believes that this will only be achieved by tapping the active participation of school administrations, students, and faculty members in keeping their surroundings clean, safe, and more conducive to learning.

The MMDA has repainted the sidewalks and passageways, installed numerous streetlights, addressed the problem on illegal vendors and garbage, and established new traffic measures within the U-Belt area. (back to top)

12 JUNE 2009

MMDA Leads Reconstruction Efforts At "Emong"-hit Areas in Pangasinan

Always on hand to extend assistance to local government units, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has gone on a "mercy mission" in Pangasinan, which was severely ravaged by typhoon "Emong" early last month.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday that he has sent MMDA personnel and equipment to Alaminos City and the towns of Bolinao, Bani, Anda, and Agno to help in the extensive repair and reconstruction of damaged infrastructures, roadways, and villages.

"The MMDA is always ready to give help to those in need. We have the men and the equipment, so we will never hesitate to provide assistance to anyone," Fernando said.

Fernando has gone on a visit in Alaminos City on Wednesday, where Mayor Hernani Braganza sought the MMDA’s assistance in rebuilding the gravely damaged cities and towns of the province.

Without much thought, Fernando ordered teams of MMDA work crews and equipment be dispatched from the MMDA central office in Makati City, coordinate with the concerned local officials, and start repair and clearing works.

The Metro Manila Mayors Council (MMC), the MMDA’s policy-making body, approved Fernando’s proposed mercy mission to Pangasinan.

Director Ramon Santiago, chief of the MMDA’s Directorate for Special Operations (DSO), immediately brought 16 heavy equipment, particularly cranes and earthmovers, and about 120 workers and engineers to the badly-hit areas of Pangasinan.

"We have divided our teams so work will be maximized. So far, we have repaired 27 classrooms, 15 collapsed infrastructures such as covered courts and sports complexes, nine damaged day care centers, two barangay halls and three religious centers," said Santiago, who remained in Pangasinan to oversee the reconstruction efforts.

He said their work also consists of removing fallen trees, clearing the roads of debris, fixing electrical systems, and repairing damaged drainage, among others.

MMDA personnel who were sent to Pangasinan include members of Flood Control Management Service (FCMS), Roadway Clearing Group (RCG), Roadway Cleaning Operations Group (RCOG) and DSO.

Santiago said they also brought with them 10,000 pieces of roofing materials and other construction items to help repair houses damaged by the typhoon.

In Bolinao, about 250 houses were either torn down or incurred varying degrees of damages; 200 in Alaminos, 265 in Bani, 145 in Anda, and 130 in Agno, according to Santiago.

Santiago said an estimated 37,000 infrastructures were damaged in western Pangasinan alone.

He said the ongoing repair and clearing operations will take about 15 more days.

At least 16 people and about 24 others were missing in Pangasinan when "Emong" struck the province early last month.

The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) reported five fatalities in Bolinao, five in Anda, four in Bani and one each in Alaminos City and Lingayen.

In Bolinao, about 80 percent of the houses were destroyed as well as 95 percent of fish cages and pens. (back to top)

JUNE 11, 2009

MMDA Eyes Swamp Area In Camarin To Be Metro Manila's "Burnham Park"

If you haven’t been to the famous Burnham Park in Baguio City , the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will bring it to you here in Metro Manila.

As part of its reconstruction and beautification program of the metropolis, the MMDA, under the able chairmanship of Bayani Fernando, has been building “ Burnham Park ”-like promenading places in government lands that have been left idle and useless.

One such “ Burnham Park ” is presently being built in a swampy area beside a creek at Barangay 178 in Camarin road, Caloocan City , which is unpleasantly referred to as “ Kubeta Village ”.

Part of a relocation site for informal settlers, this 1,000-square meter piece of grassy lot is almost always submerged in water. After an inspection, Fernando envisioned it to become a public park for the enjoyment of local residents.

Construction works followed immediately thereafter.

“What we first did is to dig up the ground to minimize the flooding. Then we constructed a riprap,” says Engr. Baltazar Melgar, chief of the MMDA’s Flood Control Management Service (FCMS).

Riprap is a loose assemblage of stones erected in water or on soft ground to serve as a foundation. Atop this riprap is the park the MMDA will be putting up.

“We will have play facilities for children such as slides, swings… sheds and benches for everyone. We may also install a (water) fountain for additional aesthetics,” Melgar said.

“It’s more like a mini ‘ Burnham Park ’,” he added.

Aside from putting into good use every barren government land in the metropolis, the park development project of the MMDA is a testament to the agency’s skills in the reconstruction of Metro Manila.

“We are caregivers of lands. Instead of letting these lands sit idle, we might as well convert it to something that is more useful, such as public parks,” Fernando, for his part, said.

The Camarin project is third “ Burnham Park ” the MMDA has so far built on the easements of creeks and waterways. The MMDA-FCMS has built such park near the Chino Roces bridge in Manila and another one on a creek near Malacañang.

Melgar said they are also putting up a park at the Bangkulasi river in Navotas.

“The Bangkulasi river, although flowing, is silted, full of garbage, so we have to de-silt it everyday,” he said. (back to top)

10 June 2009

PRESS STATEMENT
by Secretary Bayani Fernando

If elected President, I will reform our electoral system.

Philippine politics has historically been based on personalities. Celebrity, name-recall and wealth—not issues—have dictated the outcomes of political contests.

This has got to stop. We have to reform our politics, do away with personality politics that only serves the interests of the rich and the powerful.

One way is to reform campaign spending. The government should bear the costs of the campaign of the two presidential candidates of the two major political parties.

I want to see a return to the two-party system from the current coalition-building “anarchy” that encourages any number of disparate political blocs to compete in national polls and politician, to fly like butterflies from one bloc to the other.

Public financing of the two major presidential candidates will strengthen the two-party system and compel the parties to campaign on issues through distinct political platforms.

These reforms will encourage smaller parties to coalesce with the major political organizations. For the first time in years, Filipinos could have a majority president.

Candidate Fidel V. Ramos won the presidency with just 25 percent of the popular vote in 1992. Candidates Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were the plurality presidents in the 1998 and 2004 elections.

A two-party system whose campaigns are funded by public money will moderate poll spending and minimize vote buying and other forms of electoral fraud.

A campaign based on issues and on distinct political and economic philosophies will offer voters a genuine choice on election day.

A responsible campaign financing law will penalize and prohibit unconscionable campaign contributions and influence buying by big political patrons. This practice corrupts the electoral process by making politicians beholden to vested interests.

Furthermore, no reform is complete if we allow politicians to make a mockery of the electoral system. Election protests pending before the Electoral Tribunals sleep the sleep of the dead. Cases are decided years after the elections are over. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow. The will of the people is frustrated. If blessed in 2010, I will look into how we can abbreviate the electoral protests so that the will of the people can prevail. Only then can we serve justice and observe the true meaning of democracy.

On a personal note. Yesterday, Mr. Zubiri came out guns blazing and called me a “dictator and a traitor.”

I have an advice for him. I suggest he attends to his personal problems. He is the subject of a protest pending before the Senate Electoral Tribunal. Maybe he should make sure he wins it. Before then, he should shut up. “Wala siyang “K.”

On his threat he will campaign against me, I am relieved. I need not ask him not to campaign for me. I’ll seek the presidency on a moral high ground. His presence in my campaign might pollute and infect the morality of my campaign. To Mr. Zubiri, thanks but no thanks. (back to top)

JUNE 8, 2009

MMDA Chief Asks Sen. Zubiri To Refrain From Making Unnecessary Comments Over Lakas Selection of Standard Bearer

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando told Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday to “shut up” and stop making unnecessary remarks over the selection of the Lakas party’s standard-bearer for the presidential elections next year.

Fernando said Zubiri is not in the position to give him any advice about how he will manage his bid to run for president.

The MMDA chief was reacting to an earlier statement of Zubiri recently that the former should campaign with the party leaders if he wants to be drafted by the party as standard bearer in the 2010 elections.

“He should shut up. He should not be giving any comments or advice,” Fernando said.

Fernando said Zubiri had betrayed the party and the people by endorsing the candidacy of Vice President Noli De Castro and

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr., who he said are not even member of Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

Zubiri is the former secretary-general of the old Lakas-CMD.

The chairman said he will do all his best to prevent the selection of De Castro and Teodoro, whom he considers party outsiders and lack the necessary loyalty requirement for party members

“Definitely I will block the entry of De Castro and Defense Teodoro to the party because I am of the belief that party members should be the top priority in the search for a presidential candidate, not party outsiders,” Fernando said.

Fernando said Zubiri’s statement has destroyed loyal party members and even affected the party itself even as he said he is still confident that he will be chosen by his party mates over the two outsiders in the forthcoming Lakas-Kampi-CMD selection process.

“Hindi na siya dapat nag-advise pa, sinira niya ang tiwala sa kanya ng kapartido,” Fernando said, adding he considers Zubiri’s statements as a “stab in the back.”

“Sinaksak niya ako nang patalikod na hindi dapat kasi kapartido niya ako,” Fernando said.

He said Zubiri had “betrayed” the party when he favored the idea of including De Castro and Teodoro in the shortlist of presidential contenders of the party.

Fernando stressed that De Castro and Teodoro should first serve the party.

As to his political plans, Fernando reiterated that he is determined to run for president.

“It has never entered my mind that I will not be chosen by the party. I am expecting that I will be chosen as the standard-bearer because Lakas has no other party member who will run (for president),” he said. (back to top)

JUNE 8, 2009

Sec. Fernando Calls on NCRPO To Intensify Drive Vs. Street Crimes

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando yesterday called on the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) to concentrate more on resolving street crimes such as snatchings and robbery holdups, which seemed to have become rampant in several areas in Metro Manila.

During the opening of the three-day annual budget review of the Regional Development Council-National Capital Region (RDC-NCR) at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City yesterday, Fernando said the MMDA has been flooded with complaints by pedestrians and motorists who have become victims of snatchers and robbers.

Fernando pointed out that the NCRPO does not need funds to buy new patrol cars, recruit more police personnel, or put up more police stations. He said what the NCRPO need to do is to come up with new strategies and identify new equipment to catch these snatchers and petty thieves and robbers.

“We cannot catch these snatchers with patrol cars. What we need are plainclothes policemen. We don’t need (police) visibility, we need to go undercover,” the MMDA chief told Senior Supt. Joel Napoleon Coronel, the budget chief of the NCRPO.

Coronel and NCRPO Police Community Relations (PCR) head Supt. Rogelio Jocson presented to the RDC-NCR the NCRPO’s budget proposal

for 2010, including their projected projects and programs that require funding.

The NCRPO proposed a budget P1.83 billion for its operations in 2010.

Fernando, sitting as chairman of the RDC-NCR, asked the NCRPO officials how much they need to address this problem of snatchings and robberies.

He said the NCRPO needs to review its current strategies and anti-crime drives to help in the development of Metro Manila.

Fernando said police should also assist the MMDA and the local government units in cleaning up the sidewalks and rounding up street dwellers.

“We have 15,000 policemen in Metro Manila. This is more than enough,” he said, adding that crime prone areas in the metropolis have always been identified and yet the police authorities seemed not inclined to address simple crimes such as snatchings.

He said the NCRPO also needs to review its quick response capabilities to fight crimes.

Fernando led yesterday morning the opening of the three-day annual budget review of the RDC-NCR, which consists of 28 line agencies of the national government and the 17 LGUs in Metro Manila.

The budget review seeks to draw up, reconcile, and finalize the various programs and projects of RDC member-agencies in Metro Manila for fiscal year 2010 and submit it to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funding.

Fernando explained the RDC-NCR will also see to it that the priorities of the national government agencies complement with the programs and projects of the Metro Manila LGUs.

“The government has not enough funds so we need to identify which projects and programs should be in the priority list, which we think will have more benefits. We need to ensure that government money is not put to waste,” the MMDA chief explained.

Member-agencies of the RDC-NCR include the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Department of Health (DoH), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Science and Technology, NCRPO, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), among others.

RDC is the highest policy-making body in a region and serves as the counterpart of the NEDA Board at the sub national level. The RDC is the primary institution that coordinates and sets the direction of all economic and social development efforts in the region. It also serves as a forum where local efforts can be related and integrated with national development activities.(back to top)

JUNE 8, 2009

Sec. Fernando Leads Annual Budget Review of the Regional Development Council (NCR)

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando led yesterday the three-day annual budget review of the Regional Development Council (RDC) of the National Capital Region (NCR).
Fernando, who is the concurrent chairman of the RDC-NCR, will deliver the opening remarks and welcome the participants and members of the RDC-NCR line agencies and local government units (LGUs).
The RDC-NCR Annual Budget Review will be held starting today (June 8), and on Wednesday (June 10) and Thursday (June 11) at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Director Ralph Recto has been invited as the special guest speaker for the three-day meet, along with the heads of budget, planning, engineering and health/social welfare departments of the 17 LGUs comprising NCR.
The annual budget review seeks to draw up, reconcile, and finalize the various programs and projects of RDC member-agencies in Metro Manila for fiscal year 2010 and submit it to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funding.
Fernando explained the RDC-NCR will also see to it that the priorities of the national government agencies complement with the programs and projects of the Metro Manila LGUs.
"Budget Review Committees will be organized to be led by local chief executives and heads of NCR line agencies or their representatives to ensure more active participation during the three-day budget review," Fernando said.
Member-agencies of the RDC-NCR include the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Department of Health (DoH), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Science and Technology, among others.
RDC is the highest policy-making body in a region and serves as the counterpart of the NEDA Board at the sub national level. The RDC is the primary institution that coordinates and sets the direction of all economic and social development efforts in the region. It also serves as a forum where local efforts can be related and integrated with national development activities.
The RDC was created in answer to the need for a single regional planning body whose main concern is overall socio-economic development of the region. Regional development planning is necessary to address the uneven economic and social development in the country.
This stems from the recognition that the economic and social gains achieved so far have been unevenly distributed such that much of the progress has been concentrated in a few regions.(back to top)

June 1, 2009

Sec. Bayani Fernando Cleared of Alleged Mismanagement of MMFF Funds

Members of the executive committee of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) have cleared MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando of any wrongdoing in the alleged mismanagement of film fest funds.

Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) chairman Esperidion Laxa, Solar Entertainment president Wilson Tieng and National Cinema Association of the Philippines (NCAP) president Ric Camaligan said the cash gifts given to Chairman Fernando were not derived from the tax revenues of the festival.

During a Senate hearing yesterday on the supposed fund mess, the execom members told Senator Jinggoy Estrada that the cash gifts were not public funds and that it came from private sponsorship, such as the P2-million given by the NBN network.

“It was not taken from the MMFF revenues. It came from the beneficiaries,” Laxa said.

In approving the grant of cash gifts to Chairman Fernando, Laxa said it is in recognition of the MMDA chief’s able chairmanship of the MMFF, which resulted to the increased income of the annual film festival.

“When BF took over, the income of the film fest more than doubled,” Laxa said.

For his part, Camaligan pointed out that the approval of the cash gifts was deliberated upon, discussed, and approved by the executive committee.

As to the supposedly decreasing share of various MMFF beneficiaries, Camiligan said this is because of the continuous reduction of amusement taxes by the local government units. The film fest gets its income from the amusement taxes.

The number of MMFF beneficiaries has also increased, resulting to more parties getting lesser shares just to accommodate everybody, he explained.

The problem of piracy is also a key factor, Camaligan added.

On the other hand, Boots Anson Roa, who is also part of the MMFF execom, read a resolution from the MowelFund recognizing the invaluable contribution of Chairman Bayani Fernando to the dying movie industry.

Other members of the MMFF execom said they find the allegations against Fernando “unfair, unfounded, and without any legal basis.”

“The truth of the matter is that in the calendar year 2002-2003 and the subsequent years, there was a remarkable increase in income derived from the MMFF, more than double the amount of the recorded gross revenue in the previous years,” the execom members said in a joint affidavit.

In that period, the film fest income increased from P147 million to P315 million, the execom stated, adding that this “notable success of the festival under the leadership of Chairman Bayani F. Fernando was recognized by the executive committee.”

The execom further explained that the decision to grant such amounts to Chairman Fernando’s favorite charities in relation to his contributions to the MMFF was arrived at after a consensus of the executive committee and done in his absence and without his knowledge.

Those who signed the joint affidavit were Vice-Over All Chairman Imelda Aguilar, Executive Director Robert Nacianceno, Tieng, Camaligan, Dominic Du of the Greater Manila Theaters Association, Manuel Nuqui of the Philippine Motion Pictures Producers Association and members Angelito Vergel De Dios and Edenison Fainsan.

“There can be no technical malversation nor violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) if the funds for the cash gifts did not come from the MMFF’s money. These are all private funds,” Atty. Ruth Castelo, Chairman Fernando’s legal counsel said.

“Let it be understood that in order that technical malversation may be committed, the money or property that comes into the possession of the public officer must be public funds. The monies upon which the three checks were funded were not public funds; they are private funds,” Castelo added.(back to top)

JUNE 1, 2009

MMDA Bans Unsafe Street Food, Deploys 2000 Men In Schools Metrowide

With the objective of protecting the schoolchildren’s health, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will deploy teams around school campuses to apprehend vendors selling dirty street foods.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday that the agency has detailed 2,000 men to drive away these street food vendors and also serve as auxiliary security personnel outside the school gates.

“We have to ban unsafe street foods if we want to safeguard the health of our children. We will be strictly imposing this ban against street foods in areas near the schools,” the MMDA chief said.

Citing a recent report from the Department of Health, Fernando said there appeared to be a surge in gastro-intestinal diseases in Metro Manila, which are caused mainly by eating dirty sidewalk foods.

Fernando said sidewalk foods such as fishball, banana cue, inihaw na pusit, “helmet”, “isaw”, “adidas”, “betamax”, pansit, and lugaw, are among those to be prohibited from being sold near schools.

“These foods did not undergo proper food preparation. Oftentimes, the vendors do not even bother to cover the foods they are selling. Walang malasakit na gawing ligtas man lamang ang mga pagkaing nilalako nila,” Fernando explained.

“The parents should advise their children not to buy street food. Instead, they should prepare their children’s ‘baon’. If noT, they should tell their children to buy their meal at the school canteen. There they could complain if the canteen foods caused their children to get ill,” he added.

Fernando stressed that they have the legal mandate to drive away these street food vendors, especially those in the sidewalks.

The DoH has earlier urged the public not to patronize street delicacies and food outlets that have no health permits, citing an increase in the number of diarrhea cases, cholera and other gastro-intestinal diseases among children, particularly in slum areas.(back to top)

MAY 29, 2009

Inauguration of the Newly Installed Traffic Signal Lights in Tondo Manila Set by MMDA Today

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority will inaugurate this afternoon the newly-installed traffic signal lights at the two perennially clogged intersections in Tondo, Manila.

The traffic signalization project at the Juan Luna Solis/Del Fiero and Juan Luna/Raja Bago intersections is the latest component of the MMDA’s grand program to rehabilitate the entire Tondo area and transform it to a progressive and model community.

Traffic at the two intersections have been virtually at standstill for years due to the proliferation of pedicabs and the rising number of passenger jeepneys passing through the area, prompting MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando to come up with a simple and relatively inexpensive engineering measure to unclog the gridlock at the area.

Average annual daily traffic at the two intersections is pegged at 21,000 vehicles.

Fernando said constructing new roadways or other transport facilities in the area is out of the question due to Tondo’s limited road space, aside from the financial costs it entails.

"We have existing transportation facilities in the area so we only need to maximize its use through engineering improvements and regulation of traffic flows," Fernando said.

Aside from the traffic signal lights, the project also included physical improvement of two intersections, such as the repair of electrical works and the putting up of pavement markings.

With the traffic signalization project, the MMDA aims to reduce travel time, delays and stops in the area by improving average speed during peak hours.

Fernando said with the proper traffic measures in place, the agency also expects to lessen traffic hazards and accidents in the area.

The inauguration of the traffic signalization project came a week after the MMDA formally switched on the new street lights along Moriones Street and R-10, also in Tondo.

The MMDA also intends to put up a public market and a covered sports complex in Tondo on top of the major repair and cleanup of the 27 tenement houses in Vitas, all part of Fernando’s vision of transforming the slum areas in Tondo into model communities. (back to top)

By Secretary and MMDA Chairman Bayani F. Fernando

I have decided to boycott the Lakas-Kampi merger convention at the Manila Hotel today for its lack of fairness and obvious preference of some party leaders for candidates who are not even Lakas or Kampi members and for ignoring party loyalists like me and other long-time card bearers.

I have no intention of attending my own funeral.

Several party leaders, in their press statements, could not contain their enthusiasm for their favorites like Vice President Noli de Castro and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who are not even Lakas party members.

A high Lakas official was quoted as saying that the merger of Kampi and the Lakas-CMD will help members decide who between De Castro and Teodoro will make the better presidential candidate. So much for fairness and delicadeza.

By their statements and body language, these officials obviously want to influence the party in the choice of an official flag bearer. They are conditioning the minds of the public to accept an inevitable de Castro or Teodoro candidacy.

I am proud to say that I am a Lakas member, a loyal supporter and an advocate of its causes. Despite these, I am being treated as a non-entity by some party officials. My party thinks that I am an invisible man.

Is this the kind of politics Lakas-Kampi will espouse?

I was willing to go through the selection process that Lakas-Kampi will adopt, but on the premise that we are starting with a clean slate. We ought to have, as the popular phrase goes, a level playing field.

If we accept the endorsements of some high party leaders, the question should be asked: Doesn’t party loyalty count anymore? Do principles still count in democratic politics?

This brings me to my second point.

The basic weakness of Philippine democracy is its failure to build a strong party system.

By this I mean a party that will not only mobilize popular support but will also stand consistently for a set of core values.

I am afraid that Lakas-Kampi fails by this standard.

Finally I want to challenge the leaders of Lakas-Kampi not to play party politics according to the old trapo rules but to bring into the party fresh ideas that will energize the government – should they win. (back to top)

Elevated U-turns Exceed Expectations Of Traffic Engineers in Decongesting C5/Kalayaan

The recently-completed twin elevated U-Turns at the intersection of C-5 road and Kalayaan Ave. in Makati City has exceeded expectations by traffic engineers to decongest the area but also to improve traffic along the stretch of the 19-kilometer thoroughfare.

Barely a few weeks after its opening to motorists, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando yesterday said results of the second round of rigid simulation tests and survey conducted by the agency’s Traffic Engineering Center showed a dramatic increase in the average travel speed to 42.47 kilometers per hour (kph) from the previous 38.66 kph posted in the first careful studies conducted by the TEC a week after the opening of the interchange.

Fernando said these latest results even surpassed the projected 41 kph average travel speed at the C-5/Kalayaan corridor prior to the opening of the interchange and when it would have become fully operational.

“No doubt this is a dramatic improvement to the days when the C-5/Kalayaan intersection was still a four-phase traffic,” he said stressing that the interchange has likewise significantly reduced the merging conflict in the area down to zero.

This even as the volume count of vehicles now traversing the interchange has increased to 172,365 daily from the previous 120,135, or an increase of 43.47 per cent, the MMDA chief added.

Fernando explained that all these strides mean that motorists crossing the interchange can now move freely and continuously.

“Simply put, a motorist need not wait or stop for anything in crossing the intersection, a great convenience the motoring public has never experienced before during the days of the obsolete traffic signal intersections,” he said.

Thus, Fernando further explained, going to any point of C-5 road, Quezon City , Pateros, and the southern part of Metro Manila is now a breeze, we can now forget about Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (Edsa).

The elevated U-Turn interchange was chosen over the original proposal to construct a vehicular underpass or tunnel along the C-5 road because in terms of project costs, U-Turn flyovers are much more economical, according to Fernando.

Each U-Turn interchange costs only half of what the government would have spent for a tunnel and entails less maintenance expenses as there is no more need for traffic signal lights and human supervision, among other things, he said.

“More importantly, the government stands to save an approximately P3 billion a year , time savings included.” (back to top)

MAY 23, 2009

MMDA Promotes Door-to-Door Garbage Collection to Resolve Flooding in CAMANAVA

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the city governments of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela will hold a motorcade this morning to promote the system of door-to-door garbage collection as one solution to resolve the flooding in the low-lying areas of Camanava.

The parade will start at 6:30 am at the barangay hall of Barangay Longos along Hito Street in Malabon and will proceed to Navotas and end at C-3 road corner A. Mabini Street in Caloocan City .

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando will lead the parade and will be joined by Caloocan City mayor Enrico Echiverri, Mayor Canuto Oreta of Malabon, Tobias Tiangco of Navotas and MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno.

The parade will also feature the various machines and equipment of the MMDA’s Flood Control Management Service (FCMS), the agency’s flood control unit.

FCMS head Engr. Baltazar Melgar will also demonstrate the functions of the garbage scooter, the equipment used by the MMDA in river cleanup and the dredging of waterways and creeks.

Fernando said the door-to-door garbage collection will address the problem of indiscriminate dumping of garbage in the city streets and at the drainage and waterways, which is the major cause of flooding.

Under the scheme, households are encouraged to take out their garbage only upon the arrival of garbage collection trucks. This is to ensure that the garbage will not end up in the canals.

Fernando said the MMDA’s flood control operations are being conducted continuously throughout the year.

But he said the presence of squatters along riverbanks and creeks and the indiscriminate dumping of garbage hinder the agency’s relentless efforts to address Metro Manila’s problem on floods.

“Our pumping stations cannot work fully if these are clogged with garbage, so we have to regularly clean it up all day, all night, or else our pumps conk out,” he pointed out. (back to top)

MAY 22, 2009

MMDA Leads Ceremonial Lighting of Moriones and Other Dimly-lit Areas in Tondo

Residents of Tondo, Manila can now look forward to a brighter future as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) leads tonight the ceremonial lighting of the newly-installed streetlights along Moriones Street and Road 10, other dimly-lit depressed areas in Tondo included.

The streetlight project is part of the MMDA’s ongoing efforts to transform Tondo from one of the country’s most blighted and underdeveloped district to a more livable and progressive community, far from the dirt and crimes the place has long been known for.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the streetlights will not only give comfort and safety to pedestrians and motorists at nighttime but also serve as testament to the agency’s commitment to provide Tondo residents a community they can be proud of.

“With this ceremonial lighting of the new street lights, we’re hoping to erase the stigma that Tondo is all crimes and squatters. This is only the start, with the cooperation of everybody, Tondo will soon become a model community,” Fernando said.

“We will continue to address the needs of the poor communities not only in Tondo but also in the entire metropolis. This is our priority,” he added.

The lighting ceremonies will kick off at 6 pm tonight at Plaza Moriones in Moriones Street . Manila mayor Alfredo Lim will give a welcome address, along with Manila District 1 Rep. Benjamin “Atong” Asilo.

MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno, for his part, said the installation of the streetlights is part of the MMDA’s ongoing program to clean and spruce up the entire 9.10-square kilometer Tondo, the world’s most densely populated residential and industrial area.

“We will make Tondo another Marikina . By providing people a better environment, they will have a better social reorientation – respect for the law and the other people’s rights. Matututo silang kumilos bilang isang komunidad, hindi ‘yung kanya-kanya,” Nacianceno said. (back to top)

May 19, 2009

Sec. Bayani Fernando To Lead Induction of Officers of COFILCO Tomorrow

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando is expected to announce his current political plans tomorrow (May 20) as he leads the induction of the newly-elected officers of the local consulting organization Confederation of Filipino Consulting Organizations, Inc. (COFILCO).

COFILCO has chosen Chairman Bayani as its inducting officer, citing the MMDA chief’s good track record in local governance and impressive administrative skills.

COFILCO President Antonio Navarro said they are looking forward to hearing Chairman Fernando’s views on the evolving economic environment in the Philippines.

The induction of COFILCO’s board of directors and officers will be held at the Club Filipino in San Juan from 11 am to 5pm today.

After the induction ceremonies, COFILCO will also formally launch the International Asset Management Standards Services, Inc. (IASMC), an institution that will promote the best practices in asset management in the country.

Established in 1988, COFILCO is a non-stock, non-profit organization recognized by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to act as the umbrella organization of Filipino consulting organizations and individuals and by the Government Procurement Policy Board in 2004.

COFILCO now has seven member organizations advocating the use of local expertise in government-funded consulting projects.(back to top)

May 19, 2009

MMDA Plans On Establishing "Barangay Talyer" Program in Metro Manila

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is proposing the setting up of tool shops in every barangays in Metro Manila to help the residents do repair and refurbishment works at their communities.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the "Barangay Talyer" program, which proved to be successful in Marikina City, will help the people become self-reliant and teach them the value of fixing things that should have ended up in garbage.

"With the proper tools, the people can be made to do repairs of their own houses or initiate construction works in their neighborhood. This in turn will contribute to the development of the community," Fernando said.

Under the program, residents, by simply filling up a borrower’s slip, can borrow carpentry, welding and plumbing tools from the barangay hall equipped with a tool shop.

Fernando said the residents would not be charged in borrowing any of the tools.

The MMDA chief explained that the program will also benefit the residents in such a way that they would no longer spend for someone to do simple repair works in their households.

"Apart from this, training will also be provided to residents in the use of these tools and machineries," Fernando added, noting that many households still do not have the most basic tools needed for simple repairs and construction.

Fernando said he is hoping that the local government units in Metro Manila will adopt the program in their jurisdictions. (back to top)

May 14, 2009

MMDA's 2nd Elevated U-Turn Improves Travel Time Along C-5

Travel time along Circumferential Road 5 (C-5) has improved up to more than 85 percent only nine days after the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) opened its second elevated U-turn interchange at the intersection of C-5 and Kalayaan Avenue in Makati City.

The MMDA’s Traffic Engineering Center (TEC) said yesterday that simulation tests and post-evaluation study at the C-5/Kalayaan Avenue intersection showed a dramatic increase in travel speed in the area, from the average 20.85 kilometer per hour (kph) in 2006 and 2007 to 38.84 kph, an improvement of 86.28 percent.

In her report to MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, TEC director Noemi Recio said that due to the improved traffic condition, vehicular volume in the intersection has also increased from 120,135 to 151,907 following the opening of the Phase 2 (north side) of the C-5/Kalayaan Urban Interchange on May 6.

At the northbound lane of C-5, from Commando Link in Taguig to Lanuza, travel speed also increased from 28.85 percent to 52.89 kph and from 17.16 kph to 42.20 kph on the opposite southbound direction, according to Recio.

At the eastbound, from Lawton, Taguig to Buting, average travel speed is now 28.03 kph from 17.93 kph and 38.84 kph from the previous 20.850 on the westbound portion.

Fernando said the significant improvement in traffic condition at the C-5/Kalayaan intersection only proved that the elevated interchange project is "a huge success".

"Perhaps there is no other like this in the world. It has speed up travel time from both ends of C-5, from the SLEX to NLEX in McArthur Highway in Valenzuela City," Fernando said.

"Traffic is non-stop, there is no need for human supervision or 24-hour lighting, at wala pang baha," the MMDA chief said in describing his revolutionary "traffic engineering solution" U-turn interchange project.

Fernando said the government can save up to P1 billion a year that could have been spent on personnel and equipment, including electricity, that are necessary in the maintenance of traffic signal intersection and other more expensive traffic infrastructure projects.

Fernando said plans are being drawn up to put another elevated U-turn interchange at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Batasan Road in Quezon City. (back to top)

MAY 8, 2009

MMDA’s flood control operations go full blast; BF assures Metro residents of lesser flooding this rainy season

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) assured the public yesterday of much reduced flooding this approaching rainy season as the agency’s cleanup and dredging of creeks and drainages has gone full blast.

Flood Control Management Service (FCMS) chief Engr. Baltazar Melgar said all the agency’s 40 pumping stations have been prepared and primed up to accept the onslaught of rains and floodwaters during the stormy season.

“All our facilities are fully operational and in good condition so we expect that we can easily handle floods. Wala nang mangyayaring serious flooding except, of course, in low lying areas that are below sea level,” Melgar said.

He said the agency’s pumping stations have proven its worth during the past weeks of intermittent rains, preventing flooding in areas that are normally inundated even during a slight downpour.

Melgar cited as example the newly-built Abucay pumping facility in Tondo, Manila , which covers the flood prone areas of Sampaloc and Sta. Cruz districts.

“If not for the 24-hour operation of the Abucay pumping station, Blumentritt, Espana, Dimasalang and the surroundings areas could have gone underwater, as it was like in the past years. But we were able to keep floodwaters at its lowest levels,” the FCMS chief pointed out.

The Abucay facility, which was completed early this year, is the newest of the MMDA’s 17 big pumping stations.

Constraints

But even with the MMDA’s full complement of flood control facilities and equipment, the presence of squatters along riverbanks and creeks and the indiscriminate dumping of garbage hinder the agency’s relentless efforts to address Metro Manila’s problem on floods.

Melgar said they spend considerable time and resources just removing tons of garbage that are being thrown in the rivers and creeks and end up in the pumping stations.

“Our pumping stations cannot work fully if these are clogged with garbage, so we have to regularly clean it up all day, all night, or else our pumps conk out,” he pointed out.

“We have become garbage collectors,” Melgar quipped.

Squatters, especially those living along the creek sides and riverbanks, also impede the MMDA’s dredging operations, according to the flood control chief.

Without putting the blame on the local government units which should have been the ones responsible for the squatting problem in their localities, Melgar said the MMDA does not have all the resources to relocate the squatters that should have been removed along time ago from the waterways.

Flood control improvement projects

The MMDA-FCMS have been doing year-round flood control projects primarily to keep Metro Manila’s drainage systems, rivers, and creeks garbage-free, according to Melgar.

The FCMS has recently restored part of the river wall of the Estero de Maypajo in Abucay Street , Tondo, Manila , which collapsed and caused temporary flooding in the adjacent areas last week.

Melgar said they are also continuously de-silting the Blumentritt Interceptor and its drainage mains, which are both part of the Abucay pumping station.

The Santolan river in Governor I. Santiago in Malabon City has also been dredged and the garbage spoils on it properly disposed of, along with the Malabon river and the Duyan-Duyan creek in Kalayaan Avenue , Quezon City .

The FCMS, added Melgar, is also conducting repair works at various drainage systems in Metro Manila such as the repair of gravity wall at the Anaran creek at the vicinity of the Philippine Women’s University in Edsa, Quezon City ; restoration of riprap at Duyan-Duyan creek, and the plastering of river wall at Paete creek in Don Bosco, Paranaque City . (back to top)

MAy 07, 2009

MMDA Hires New Workers As Part of the Agency's "Metro Gwapo Workforce"

At least 600 new workers have been hired by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in its continuing program of providing job opportunities for the poor and underprivileged residents of Metro Manila.

The 600 newly-hired employees took their oaths and signed their appointment papers today before MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, who welcomed them in the agency’s "Metro Gwapo" workforce.

The hired workers were laborers, foremen, painters, carpenters, masons, and drivers, who will be assigned to work in the MMDA’s Landscape Management Office, Road Clearing Group, Traffic Engineering Center, and Construction and Equipment Maintenance Office.

Fernando said the 600 workers were hired from depressed areas such as Tondo, Manila, and Tatalon in Quezon City and will be fielded in worksites near their residences.

"We do not want them to spend more money in transportation fares so they will work near their place of residences. They could also just as easily get their baon from their houses," the MMDA chairman added.

The MMDA has announced that it needs about 1,800 new employees to fill its ranks for field operations and office works.

Fernando said a job at the MMDA is a good stepping stone for those who wish to land a higher-paying job abroad or in private companies in the future.

"We do not discriminate. With or without (work experience) we will accept everyone who is willing to work with us. We will even train you," the MMDA chairman said.

Fernando added that by hiring more workers, the MMDA is contributing to the government’s peace and order drive by preventing these jobless people by committing crimes.

"If they have a source of income, they could not think of doing anything wrong just to earn money," he said.

Illegal vendors who could hardly make ends meet due to their unstable income are also welcome to apply at the MMDA, according to MMDA.

Fernando added the MMDA’s hiring of new employees is continuous.

Aside manual labor, the MMDA also about 200 traffic enforcers to augment the ranks of the Traffic Operations Center (TOC), the MMDA’s traffic management arm.

For enforcement and administrative work, the MMDA also needs to fill up a total of 732 positions, from security officers, legislative staff assistants, clerks, computer programmers, accountants, and engineers.

Fernando said there are also vacant positions for architects, electricians, lawyers, storekeepers, planning and records officers, and public information officers.

To facilitate the hiring of workers, the MMDA has been dispatching mobile recruitment teams all over Metro Manila, especially in depressed areas in Tondo, communities along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, C-5/Taguig, and Camanava area.

The recruitment teams are dispatched to various cities in coordination with the city officials, Fernando said.(back to top)

May 5, 2009

MMDA's Elevated U-turn interchange in C5/kalayaan Completed

Motorists can now forget about traffic congestion along the perennially clogged C-5 road with the recent completion of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)’s revolutionary elevated U-turn interchange, the first of its kind in the Philippines , and perhaps in the world.

Completed in a record time of four months, the Phase 2 (South Side) of the C-5/Kalayaan Urban Interchange will be inaugurated today, a testament to the MMDA’s commitment to relieve Metro Manila of its decades-old problems on traffic.

The man behind the elevated U-turn project – MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando – likes to think of it as the newest traffic engineering solution that has so far been conceived to address the metropolis’ traffic situation.

“With the opening of the second C-5/Kalayaan Interchange, we can now further free up traffic along C-5 and Kalayaan Avenue , as well as speed up travel towards Quezon City and southern part of Metro Manila,” Fernando said.

The C-5/Kalayaan Urban Interchange project will easily connect the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) in Taguig City to the north end of C-5, the McArthur Highway in Valenzuela City and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), according to Fernando.

And unlike the conventional flyovers and tunnels, an elevated U-turn does not take up much road space, making it more applicable in urban areas with relatively small land area, he stressed.

“With the limited urban space in Metro Manila, the C-5/Kalayaan Urban Interchange requires only minimal space, “Fernando said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will formally grace today’s formal inauguration of the U-turn interchange near the C-5/Kalayaan Avenue intersection in Makati City, along with the mayors and congressmen of the six cities that straddle the 19.7-kilometer C-5 road – Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Marikina, Makati, Taguig and the municipality of Pateros.

“An innovation in road engineering” was how MMDA Assistant General Manager for Planning Dr. Corazon B. Cruz, the project director, describes the recently completed elevated U-turn.

AGM Cruz said billions of pesos in fuel and time savings, vehicle maintenance, and government expenses on personnel, equipment, and electricity will be saved with the full operation of the elevated U-turn interchanges.

The first elevated U-turn interchange, located at the north bound lane of C-5, was completed in August 2008, after only six months of construction. The second phase commenced four months later, on December 2, 2008 and completed on April 17, 2009.

The full operation of the two elevated U-turn interchanges is expected to increase travel speed at the C-5/Kalayaan corridor up to 43.61 kilometer per hour (kph), a dramatic improvement to the days when the C-5/Kalayaan intersection was still a four-phase traffic.

“By removing the traffic signal lights and closing the ( C-5/Kalayaan Avenue ) intersection, traffic flow is now continuous, providing motorists an unimpeded travel,” Fernando said in explaining the U-turn traffic concept.

Developed in view of the MMDA’s continuous effort to seek new alternatives to improve the metropolis’ traffic condition, the elevated U-turn scheme underwent rigid traffic simulation tests conducted by the agency’s Traffic Engineering Center (TEC) and the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) of the University of the Philippines .

The elevated U-turn interchange was chosen over the original proposal to construct a vehicular underpass ortunnel along the C-5 road, which proved to be more impractical and expensive.

Fernando said the elevated U-turn interchange does not entail the utilization of traffic signal lights, 24-hour lighting, or traffic enforcers, and is not prone to flooding compared to a tunnel.

“We conducted numerous studies for this project and we found out that the elevated U-turn is much more viable and would be of great help in reducing traffic gridlock in the area,” Fernando said.

Fernando said C-5 road is now the best alternative for motorists using Edsa, thus freeing up traffic volume in the 24-kilometer national highway.

“There is nothing like this in the world,” Fernando said of the elevated U-turn interchanges. (back to top)

April 22, 2009

MMDA Clarifies Implementation of No Physical Contact Policy

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) belied yesterday a transport group’s claim that it defied the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) when the agency proceeded with the implementation of its No Physical Contact Policy (NPCP) which the court has supposedly nullified.
Legal Service chief Emmanuel De Castro clarified that what the court has declared illegal is a provision in the traffic scheme that requires violators to pay the corresponding traffic fines before being allowed to contest their traffic apprehensions.
De Castro pointed out that the NPCP is different from the Non-Contact Traffic Apprehension (NCTA) the MMDA enforced about three years ago because the agency has removed the “payment first before protest” rule.
“The new NPCP does not require immediate payment of traffic fines. It gives the violator seven days within which to file a protest,” De Castro explained.
The MMDA reacted to the allegations made by the transport organization United Transport Koalisyon (1-UTAK) that the agency is openly defying the Makati court for continuously implementing the no physical contract traffic scheme that has been declared null and void.
1-UTAK chairperson Vigor Mendoza, chairperson of the transport organization United Transport Koalisyon (1-UTAK) said they are readying a transport strike to protest the continued implementation of the policy.
But De Castro said the MMDA has not been violating any law when it started the implementation of the NPCP last January.
“There is no truth that (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando is ignoring that court order. The NPCP was deliberated upon and approved by the Metro Mayors’ Council (MMC),” De Castro stressed, referring to the agency’s policy-making body which is composed of the 17 mayors in Metro Manila.
The MMC passed on January 21, 2009 MMDA Resolution No. 09-02 Series of 2009 prescribing the no physical contact policy of the MMDA in apprehending traffic violators in Metro Manila.
Under the old NCTA, traffic enforcers use digital cameras to catch motorists violating traffic rules. The MMDA then sends summons to the operator or driver of the vehicle with the photograph of the violation as evidence.
The MMC reviewed the NCTA and came up with the NPCP, which now utilizes the MMDA’s traffic surveillance cameras along major thoroughfares to catch or record traffic violators.
The violator is then sent a summon or notice specifying the offense committed as well as the date, time and place where the violation was committed and the corresponding photograph.
De Castro said that under the NPCP, violators are given seven days to file a protest before the Traffic Adjudication Board (TAB). When no protest is filed, a final notice to settle will be sent to the violator.
Failure to do so will compel the MMDA to put the driver’s license or vehicle license plate of the erring violator in the Alarm List and will be reported to the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
The LTO will not renew either the driver’s license or the license plate of the motorists that ignored the summons sent to them, according to De Castro. (back to top)

April 17, 2009

MMDA Tests New Floating Garbage Scooters in Paranaque River Today

Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), together with the agency’s flood control personnel, is set to conduct massive dredging operations of the Parañaque River at 10 a.m. this Friday (April 17) using the agency’s heavy equipment and its new floating garbage scooters.

While the dredging and declogging of waterways and drainage systems in the metropolis is a year-round activity being pursued by the MMDA before the onset of the rainy season, this Friday’s scheduled clearing of the Parañaque River will highlight the test run of 11 floating garbage scooters that will help augment the flood control operations.

The improvised floating garbage scooters were designed and built from second-hand motor bikes through the collaborative efforts of Fernando and MMDA Flood Control chief Baltazar Melgar.

“ Ang mga scooter ay gamit pangtulak ng mga nakalutang na basura patungo sa pampang ng ilog upang mahakot ng trak,” Fernando explained.

The dredging and clearing of the Parañaque River of silt and garbage is in line with the MMDA’s continuing “Oplan Linis Sapa, Iwas Baha” program to prevent unwanted flooding this rainy season in the city and the surrounding areas of Makati, Las Piñas and Taguig cities, in coordination with the city government and the Parañaque River Foundation Inc.

Simultaneous with the flood control operations in Parañaque, Fernando said agency personnel will also go around low-lying and flood-prone areas in the capital to clean and declog esteros, inlets and drainage mains of silt and debris and to install new manhole covers.

“ We cannot afford to be complacent on the job because the peculiar climate we have now brings in heavy rains and unnecessary flooding problems at the most unexpected places and time,” Fernando said. (back to top)

April 8, 2009

BF Still in Presidential Race, Places Second in Metro Manila Election Survey

Despite various “surveys” supposedly excluding him from the list of top presidential contenders in the 2010 elections, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando remained confident yesterday that he would become the country’s next president.

Fernando said election surveys tend to be self-serving and should not be relied upon as the voice of the voting public, whom he pointed out has now began to understand his real worth as a public servant and as the future president.

The MMDA chairman made the statement even as a recent survey by an independent political think tank placed him second among the presidential aspirants that are most favored by Metro Manila residents.

In the March 12-15 survey, Fernando placed second behind Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, garnering 16.24 percent or 2,077 votes of the 12,789 polled respondents.

Fernando beat by a narrow margin the five other prospective presidential candidates, namely Vice President Noli De Castro and Senators Manny Villars, Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson and Mar Roxas.

Fernando got the most number of votes in the cities of Muntinlupa and in his home turf, Marikina , and placed second in Quezon City and Paranaque , Las Piñas, Manila , and Pasig .

The latest survey further boosted Fernando’s presidential bid, which has been continuously getting the all-out support of various sectors, people’s organizations, and local government executives throughout the country.

Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Isabela Rep. Edwin Uy had previously endorsed Fernando’s bid along with Binalonan, Pangasinan Mayor Ramon Guico, president of the Mayors’ League of the Philippines, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda and other local government executives nationwide.

A Pulso ng Bayan survey conducted by the Issues and Advocacy Center also indicated that Fernando is gaining acceptance among a growing number of people. The Center is an independent political think tank and is a member of the World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR).

Fernando tied with Senator Manuel Roxas at 7th and 8th places, getting a positive rating of six percent.

This survey is the exact contrast to an earlier four-day poll conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) on November last year that showed Fernando garnering a rating of only two percent.

“’Wag kasisiguro na kung ako’y medyo mababa ang rating sa survey ngayon ay hindi ito magbabago,” Fernando said of the election surveys.

As to the latest Metro Manila survey, Fernando said this only shows that he is now a serious contender to the presidential post.

“The presidency is a management job. Dapat may training sa local government unit ang isang pangulo. A good knowledge of local governance will make a good president,” he said of his distinct difference from the other presidential aspirants.

“Mukang kilala ko ang Filipino. Kung napagbago ko ang Marikina, siguradong mababago ko ang buong bansa.,” he added.

Likening himself to Singapore ’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, Fernando, dubbed as “Mr. Political Will”, believes he can steer the country towards greater economic heights.

Lee Kuan Yew was credited for transforming Singapore from an underdeveloped colonial outpost to “First World Asian Tiger”.

Fernando said the country has all the necessary laws to make the Philippines competitive to its Asian neighbors.

“Hindi tayo naiwan sa istruktura, solusyon, batas- nakagawa ang mga nauna sa atin. Ang kulang ay hindi natin mapatupad, hindi mapasunod dahil sa takot mawalan ng boto,” he said. (back to top)

April 7, 2009

MMDA Offers Job Opportunities for the Unemployed

Jobless? Laid off from work or just graduated from college? Join the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando announced yesterday that the agency is in immediate need of about 1,800 new employees for office jobs and field operations – with or without work experience.

Fernando said a job at the MMDA is a good stepping stone for those who wish to land a higher-paying job abroad or in private companies in the future.

“We do not discriminate. With or without (work experience) we will accept everyone who is willing to work with us. We will even train you,” the MMDA chairman said.

For manual labor, the MMDA needs laborers, foreman, painters, carpenters, masons, and drivers, who will be assigned to work in the agency’s Landscape Management Office, Road Clearing Group, Traffic Engineering Center, and Construction and Equipment Maintenance Office.

Two hundred twenty-six traffic enforcers are also needed to augment the ranks of the Traffic Operations Center (TOC), the MMDA’s traffic management arm.

As of April 2, a total of 1,048 slots are available for immediate hiring, according to Fernando.
For enforcement and administrative work, the MMDA also needs to fill up a total of 732 positions, from security officers, legislative staff assistants, clerks, computer programmers, accountants, and engineers.

Fernando said there are also vacant positions for architects, electricians, lawyers, storekeepers, planning and records officers, and public information officers.

To facilitate the hiring of workers, the MMDA has been dispatching mobile recruitment teams all over Metro Manila, especially in depressed areas in Tondo, communities along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, C-5/Taguig, and Camanava area.

The recruitment teams are dispatched to various cities in coordination with the city officials, Fernando said.

And to help the newly-hired workers save on their transportation expenses, they will be assigned near their place of residence, Fernando added.(back to top)

April 3, 2009

MMDA Rescues Street Dwellers in Tondo, Manila

With no job to feed his wife and three children, Jerome Vacongay has been praying that someone will be able to help them and take them out of their makeshift shanty that has been their home at the sidewalk of R-10 road in Tondo, Manila for years.

His prayers were immediately answered: he and seven other street dwellers and their families were rescued by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), sent to a care center, and given jobs as street sweepers and laborers.

“Malaking malaki po ang pasasalamat ko kay Chairman (Bayani) Fernando. Hindi na po kami sa sidewalk nakatira at may regular na trabaho na po ako,” Vangocay said, still unable to believe that the MMDA has given them a new lease in life.

Vangocay and the seven other homeless residents of R-10 road were rescued on March 15 by the MMDA’s Street Dweller Care Unit as part of the agency’s cleanup operations of R-10 road and its immediate vicinities.

Fernando, who personally witnessed the street dwellers’ abject poverty, ordered that they be sent to the Jose Fabella Center in Mandaluyong City , a temporary shelter for strandees, vagrants, and mendicants that is being run by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

While at the center, Vacongay, his wife and children and his fellow vagrants were fed and given fresh clothes. Always with a big heart for the poor, Fernando immediately instructed that the former street dwellers be given jobs at the MMDA.

Vacongay and his fellow former scavengers are now legitimate MMDA employees, working as street sweepers and laborers. Vacongay said he hopes to save enough money to rent a small house for his family and send his children to school. “Hindi na namin kailangan magkalkal ng basura, ‘eto at maayos na trabaho namin,” a grateful Vacongay said. (back to top)

March 30, 2009

MMDA Leads Extensive Clean-up of Vitas Tenement Buildings

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando has assured residents of Vitas area in Tondo, Manila that no one will be displaced by the agency’s cleanup of the tenement buildings.

Fernando clarified that the agency will not be demolishing any thing but will only remove illegal structures that have cluttered and dirtied the medium-rise apartment buildings.
“This is not a demolition. We will only clean up and improve your residences and surroundings so that you may live well, like you’re in a first-class condominium,” the MMDA chief told Vitas residents and barangay officials during a dialogue last Sunday.

Under the “Tondominium” project, the MMDA will lead the extensive cleanup of each tenement building, with emphasis in the removal of clotheslines, animal pens, and other eyesores.

Fernando said garbage that has not been collected for weeks will be taken cared of by the MMDA. Meanwhile, residents who work as scavengers may apply to the MMDA under President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Emergency Employment Program.

“Ilalayo natin sila sa basura. We’re hiring workers for our various projects at the MMDA,” Fernando said.

Fernando added the MMDA will also renovate and repaint each of the 27 tenement buildings and make the residents comply with the occupancy rules set by the National Housing Authority (NHA).

“In every community, there are rules and regulations that have to be complied with. This is for the good of everybody,” he said.

As for the sari-stores that have encroached the sidewalks, Fernando said these will be transferred in vacant lots.

Convinced of the benefits of the project, barangay leaders in Tondo have earlier expressed their support to the MMDA in the complete makeover of the Vitas residential area.(back to top)

March 26, 2009

Local Barangay Execs Commit Full Support to MMDA in Cleaning Up Medium-rise Apartment Buildings

The planned cleanup of the medium-rise apartment buildings at the tenement area in Vitas, Tondo got a big boost after local barangay chairmen committed their full support and cooperation with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The MMDA and other agencies involved in the project will now be meeting with the Vitas residents on Monday to inform them of the upcoming cleanup, which is aimed at transforming the tenement houses into “Vitas condominiums.”

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the support of the barangay leaders is vital to the success of the program as this will be the first time the MMDA will undertake the repair and rehabilitation of high-rise apartment buildings.

“We will be making your tenement a model condominium,” Fernando told the barangay officials during an inter-agency meeting at the Don Bosco Training Center in Tondo on Wednesday.

Fernando heads the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee (MMIAC) on Informal Settlers, composed of officials of the MMDA, the National Housing Authority (NHA), the Philippine Commission on Urban Poor and other local government units and non-government organizations.

Chairman Virgilio Reyes of Barangay 98, Zone 8 conveyed to Fernando that they will be cooperating with the agency by helping inform their respective constituents of the project.
“We believe in the MMDA’s capabilities so we are supporting this program. After all, we are the ones who will greatly benefit from this massive cleanup,” Reyes said.

Reyes added his fellow barangay leaders are grateful to the MMDA for cleaning the Moriones Street , where houses have been repaired and repainted, the street and sidewalks cleared and cleaned up.

Fernando said the Vitas project involves the extensive cleanup of each tenement house in the Vitas area, which over the years, has been overcrowded and dirtied by residents.
There are 27 medium-rise tenements in the Vitas area or a total of 1,664 dwelling units, with each unit measuring about 18 square meters in size. This low-cost housing is being managed by the NHA.

Fernando said eyesores such as chicken pens, clothesline, billboards and even plant plots will be removed as this only clutter the building spaces and walkways.
“We will remove all the unnecessary items, scrub everything and repaint it,” Fernando said as he asked residents to dispose all their excess belongings to free up valuable space.
Fernando noted that many tenement dwellers are keeping pets, such as dogs, chicken, and pigeons, in their units, which only add up to the dirtying of their surroundings.
Fernando tasked the barangay leaders with imposing the ban on animals, since this is strictly prohibited in the occupancy rules set by the NHA.
Barangay officials also raised to the MMDA their problem with garbage collection; Fernando said he will coordinate this matter with the city government of Manila .
“Kailangan natin mapasunod ang mga tao dahil ‘pag may batas, kailangan natin sundin. Kapag ang batas ay sinunod, aayos tau. Kapag hindi sinunod, mababalewala ang mga gagawin natin,” Fernando told the barangay chairmen.

Fernando assured that no one will be displaced by this project.
“We only want the people to have a clean environment. Ang tao, binabagay ang pagkilos sa kanyang kapaligiran,” the MMDA chief added.

The Vitas cleanup is part of the complete makeover of Tondo, which Fernando wanted to be converted into a premier residential area. (back to top)

MARCH 17, 2009

MMDA Plans Complete Makeover For Tondo Area in Manila

Known for being one of the poorest and underdeveloped districts of the country, the Tondo area in Manila will soon undergo a complete makeover by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday that the extensive cleanup of the Tondo district is not only aimed at improving the place’s physical condition but also to uplift the well-being of the local residents.

“We are hoping to enhance the productivity of the Tondo residents,” Fernando said, believing that people tend to look and do well in cleaner and more orderly surroundings.

In partnership with the city government of Manila and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the MMDA will be clearing the Tondo portion of R-10 road as well as the traffic prone Kapulong and Moriones streets.

Fernando said Kapulong and Moriones lead to R-10 so these roads should be cleared of all types of obstruction that slows down vehicular traffic.

“These roads are congested that vehicles are virtually unable to move,” the MMDA chief said.
The MMDA will be removing all encroachments on the sidewalks and roadways in Tondo that impedes the area’s development.

Fernando reported that the residents, particularly in Moriones, voluntarily repaired and repainted their frontages Bayanihan-style. Tower lights will also be installed along R-10 and other streets in the area to provide the much-needed light at nighttime and prevent the occurrence of crimes.
Fernando said there are many access streets in Tondo that could be used to make travel to and from the ports easier and safe. Located at the western portion of Tondo is the major inter-island port of Manila, North Harbor, and the Manila Container Port.

And to provide a fresher look at Tondo’s l landscape, Fernando said trees will be planted in areas that will not obstruct vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The kilometer-long fence of the PPA will also be washed and repainted.

Tomorrow (March 18), Fernando will be meeting with the barangay captains and the parish priests in Vitas tenement areas, one of the oldest tenement houses in the Philippines that has become a symbol of urban deterioration.

Fernando thinks that after this meeting with the stakeholders in the area, Vitas will soon be known as the Vitas condominium with all the good aspects of condominium living.

“Soon, the name ‘Tondo’ will no longer be associated with crimes, garbage, and squatters. Tondo will become a first-class residential and industrial area, a very good place to live in,” Fernando, the brains behind the “Metro Gwapo” project, said.

With a 2007 population of 407,330, Tondo, which has a land area of only 5.64 square kilometers, is one of the world’s most densely populated districts with an average residential population density of 69,297 persons per square kilometer.

Tondo is home to Smokey Mountain, a huge landfill that was ordered closed in 1995.
Divisoria, a major business center and shopping area, is also part of Tondo.(back to top)

MARCH 13, 2009

Gwapotel: A Big Hit Among the Poor and Low-Income People

Conceived from an idea nobody thought would succeed, the PGMA Workers’ Inn or “Gwapotel” of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has now become a household name among low-income workers, students, and out-of-town travelers.
MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando - who came up with the plan to put up low budget inns for workers two years ago - is now looking for a third site to build the Gwapotel 3 after the resounding success of the Gwapotels 1 and 2 in Bonifacio Drive and Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Manila, respectively.

“The reception is very encouraging. The increasing occupancy rate at the Gwapotels serves as inspiration for us to strive harder and make innovations that will help the night-long stay of transients, vendors, and fellow workers more comfortable and secured,” Fernando said.
Gwapotel (from the words “Gwapo” or handsome and “hotel”) is part of the MMDA’s urban renewal program, originally aimed at providing cheap but decent accommodations to workers whose place of residence is outside Metro Manila.
In its second year of operation, Gwapotel has become a temporary shelter even for homeless individuals, effectively addressing Metro Manila’s squatting problems.

“At only P25, everybody can have a good night sleep, a shower, and a 24-hour security. Who would ever think again of sleeping in the sidewalks?” Fernando said.
The Gwapotel project is also a component of President Arroyo’s “ten-point agenda” to decongest Metro Manila.
Fernando said through the Gwapotels, the volume of commuters in the thoroughfares is being reduced, easing traffic flow.

Very economical

Guests at the Gwapotel were all praises for the facility.
“I’ve been staying here for two months. It beats renting an apartment. I have my own bed and a nice shower. This really helps me a lot because this is very cheap,” said Jaime, who came all the way from Cebu to complete a business transaction in Metro Manila.
For Efren Montano, 50, Gwapotel has been a “God sent”. He said he can now save money that he could have spent on more expensive hotels or lodging inns.
“I thank the MMDA for this hotel, it’s very economical and yet comfortable,” he said. He hails from Koronadal City in South Cotabato .
Alfredo Monteban, 54, who hails from Mindoro, has been staying at Gwapotel 1 following up his papers from a recruitment agency where he has applied as heavy equipment operator in Saudi Arabia.
“I’ve been a freeloader hopping from one relative’s house to another until the last one booted me out. I was so glad when I learned from one of the staff of the recruitment agency that there’s a Gwapotel nearby where I could seek refuge.
“ Ang laking menos sa akin habang pinipiga ko ang pera ko sa pag-apply abroad. Napakalaking tulong lalo na sa ibang pakalat-kalat sa daan,” Monteban said.

Surge in Guests

From a losing business venture, the MMDA’s Gwapotels are now giving privately-owned hotels, inns, and apartelles a run for their money.
Amante Salvador, head of the MMDA’s social services unit in charge of the two Gwapotels, said their gross income for a month now reaches up to P1.3 million.
“In numerous occasions, we have to turn away guests because we can no longer accommodate them,” he said, pointing out that Gwapotel 1 has a current bed capacity of only 714.
Salvador said their monthly occupancy rate averages 33,000, or more than 1,000 a day, a far cry when the Gwapotel was first introduced to the public.
“Previously, we only have about 600 guests a day but now we’re in full capacity almost everyday,” he pointed out, adding that the surge of guests is at nighttime, or during a heavy downpour when taking a ride back home is difficult due to flood and traffic.
Aside from students and minimum wage earners, regular guests at Gwapotel 1 include businessmen from far-flung provinces, night shift workers, vendors, casino employees, teachers attending seminars, and those waiting for their flight at the airport and pier, and even members of religious groups belonging to El Shaddai and Jesus is Lord Movement.
In several occasions, Salvador said a group of lawyers came in to spend the night at Gwapotel.
“Our Gwapotel is for white collar jobs, too. We do not discriminate, this is for everybody,” Salvador said.
Gwapotel 1 was established at a four-storey building owned by the National Power Corporation. It has separate quarters for males and females.
At P25 for a ten-hour stay, a guest will have his or her own bed and an eight-minute shower, with strict 24-hour security.
At Gwapotel 2 in Jose Abad Santos Avenue , the MMDA has put up Tokyo-inspired capsule beds, each equipped with a control panel for lighting, music and airconditioning. It can accommodate as many as 800 guests a day.
Fernando, meanwhile, said that more Gwapotels are to be constructed this year.
“More Gwapotels are in the pipeline. We want to put up a Gwapotel in every city in Metro Manila,” he said, adding that the continued rise in the occupancy rate at the first two Gwapotels prompted them to put up more in other parts of Metro Manila.
He said his end-goal is for employers of private firms to put up similar Gwapotels for their employees “para sa masasayang manggagawa na kaibigan ng industriya at pamahalaan,” he mused.(back to top)

MARCH 13, 2009

MMDA's Response to MLQU Request: Major Facelift of Streets Surrounding Manuel L. Quezon University

The crowded and filthy streets surrounding the Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) in Manila will soon have a major facelift courtesy of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday that the agency will start an extensive cleanup of the R. Hidalgo and Arlegui streets in Quiapo in response to the MLQU’s request for assistance to remove all the obstructions and eyesores around the school campus.
“We will be removing all the clutter and obstructions as soon as possible,” Fernando told the MLQU officials, faculty members, and students when he visited the university the other day.
The MMDA chief said he will be coordinating with Manila mayor Alfredo Lim for the removal of illegal vendors that have clogged R. Hidalgo and Arlegui, including various illegal structures that have occupied the sidewalks such as eateries, makeshift stalls, and even notary publics.
MLQU Vice President for Planning and Development Candido Dizon told Fernando that the environment around the school has become “much less conducive for educational pursuits.”
“Over the last ten years or so, the task of educating our young and women to become responsive and productive citizens of our country has become exceedingly difficult for us here at the university,” Dizon said, attributing it to the dirty surroundings of the university.
The once clear estero near the school has become a virtual sewer, offensive to all senses. The traffic congestion caused by too many jeepneys plying the streets also added to the problem, made much worse by the countless homeless persons sleeping on the sidewalks, according to Dizon.
“These and others have contributed to the deterioration of what was once a clean neighborhood,” the school official added.
As a result of this “urban blight” around the school, Dizon said the student population has declined to a pitiful 2,000 from 22,000 two years ago, Dizon said.
“Through Secretary Bayani Fernando, we have every expectation that change will truly come to R. Hidalgo,” he said.
Students also complained that too many of them have fallen victims to pickpockets and snatchers along R. Hidalgo Street, particularly at night.
Drainages in the area were also clogged, resulting in floods.
Aside from this, the students are also forced to walk in the middle of the street- where they are vulnerable to speeding vehicles - because of the obstructions in the sidewalks.
Understanding the students’ plight, Fernando said he will direct the MMDA Street Dweller Care Unit to round up the street beggars and homeless persons around the school vicinities and transfer them to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“We will also be removing all those illegally-parked vehicles along R. Hidalgo because these further congest the roadway. We will be designating parking spaces for them,” Fernando said.
To beautify the area, Fernando also vowed to spruce up the dilapidated houses and buildings, fix and repair the sidewalks and install sufficient number of lampposts along R. Hidalgo Street.
R. Hidalgo Street is one of the busiest roads in the Quiapo area, where vendors selling all types of wares and photography-related items abound.
R. Hidalgo straddles the Administration Building, Research Center and the Monzon Hall of MLQU. The school’s Arlegui Compound where the School of Law is located is at the Arlegui Street.
Fernando’s visit to the MLQU is part of the agency’s “Univer City” program to rehabilitate and beautify the University Belt area in Manila with the close and active participation of the school administration and students. (back to top)

March 11, 2009

MMDA Plans Repair, Beautification and Rehabilitation of NAIA Vicinities

In its continuing program to transform Metro Manila into an investor-friendly region, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is now training its sights on the so-called “airport corridor” – the immediate vicinities of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said repair, beautification and rehabilitation works around the airport area, under the “Pook Na Bulok, Negosyo Hindi Papasok” urban renewal project, are in near completion.
Fernando said cleaning up the airport corridor is aimed not only to make it more attractive to potential investors but also to provide residents a cleaner, safer place to live while at the same time improve traffic flow in the area.
The project involves the clearing and recovery of sidewalks, repair and repainting of houses lining up the roads leading to and from the airport, beautification of center islands, and installation of various traffic furnitures to ease traffic congestion in the area.
Fernando said this project is being undertaken in partnership with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
“We are upgrading the area with the end view of enabling residents to have a meaningful livelihood,” he said, adding that a clean and hygienic environment is more likely to entice investors to put up businesses in than filthy surroundings.
At the corner of MIA road and Domestic road, the MMDA chief said they have relocated several illegal settlers and transferred the trees. The nearby creek has also been cleaned up.
“After three years, the place now looks productive,” he said.
Along the Ninoy Aquino Avenue, on the other hand, the MMDA has also cleared up the sidewalks and removed all the encroachments, and in coordination with the concerned barangays, converted the cleared spaces for parking.
Tower lights have also been installed along the roads leading to and from the airport area, added Fernando.
The airport cleanup project is part of the MMDA’s “Metro Gwapo” program, Fernando’s endeavor to turn the metropolis into a more livable and tourist-friendly environment by 2010 comparable with the best in neighboring countries.
Of the 5,000 kilometers of total roadways, more than 2,000 kilometers have been cleared and rehabilitated by the MMDA, according to Fernando. (back to top)

March 3, 2009

MMDA Takes Over CAMANAVA Megadike Operation

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will finally be taking over the operation of the recently completed Camanava Megadike project, more than two months early of the expected onset of rainy season on June.

Engineer Baltazar Melgar, head of the MMDA’s Flood Control Management Office (FCMO), said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to turn over the facility this month through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) it will be signing with the MMDA.

“We at the MMDA have the manpower and equipment to operate this megadike facility, particularly its four pumping stations. We will be operating these 24-hours a day,” Melgar said.

The completion of the much-vaunted P5-billion megadike project is a welcome development for the residents of the perennially flooded Camanava, with the MMDA expecting at least 80 percent reduction of flooding in the area.

According to Melgar, the MOA that will formally transfer the facility to the MMDA is now being finalized.

“Lubog pa rin ang Camanava. We have to hasten the operation of these facilities before the rainy season starts in May,” Melgar said.

Conceived as early as 2003, the megadike project would improve the flood control and drainage system in Camanava and outlying areas, covering 18.48 square kilometers of the low-lying areas of Caloocan , Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela.

The facility is concentrated on Malabon river, where an 8.6-kilometer polder dike has been built and the river walls’ elevation increased to hold huge volume of floodwaters.

The project is funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Melgar also announced yesterday that they have also taken over the West Manggahan pumping station in Pasig City , which serves Pasig , Cainta, Taguig, and Pateros.

The MMDA-FCMO will also be opening before June its newly-built pumping station in Abucay, Tondo, which was constructed to reduce floodings in Manila ’s Sampaloc and Sta. Cruz districts.

The Abucay station, the newest of the 17 pumping stations being operated by the MMDA and which was built at the cost of P80 million, will be fully operational by May.

“With our Abucay pumping station, we expect to lessen the flooding along Espana, Blumentritt, Dimasalang and the whole Sampaloc area,” Melgar said.

He added that aside from España 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.(back to top)

March 1, 2009

Chairman Fernando Draws Support From Youth Sector In Showcasing Metro Manila as a World Class Region

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando continues to draw the support of the youth sector, particularly the students, in the implementation of the agency’s vision to showcase Metro Manila as a world-class and investor-friendly region.

In his visits to different colleges and universities in Metro Manila and several provinces where he was invited as resource speaker, Fernando was warmly received by the students, faculty members, and school administrators, who have admired his strong political will and excellent leadership qualities. Fernando was the guest speaker in a job fair at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on February 11, where he called on the senior graduating students to work hard and dedicate themselves in the career that they will choose.

“Give your best, that is what you need, because in the end, you will have nothing to depend on except your talents and skills,” Fernando said while exhorting students to become “manageable” employees. “You have to be manageable, most employers want workers who can be managed. Unfortunately for many of our fellow Filipinos, they have become unmanageable to the point that they can no longer manage each other,” he said.

On February 12, Fernando was also invited to speak at the 2nd Regional Paralegal Convention of the Lyceum of the Philippines-Batangas where he discussed the importance of political will and the need to enforce the laws to solve Metro Manila’s problems. School officials called Fernando “Mister Political Will” because of his “exceptional administrative skills and leadership qualities that has become a yardstick of performance.”

“Ang batas ay solusyon sa ating mga suliranin. Ito ay hindi bagay na ipanlaban sa karapatan ng sinumang tao,” Fernando said, adding that what the MMDA had being doing is for the good of the greater number of people. Various colleges and universities have also been visiting the MMDA office in Makati City, where students get to interact with Fernando and be briefed in the agency’s various projects and programs.
Among the schools that have recently visited the MMDA through the “Lakbay Aral” program is the University of Pangasinan.

On Wednesday, the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman-Department of Political Science invited Fernando as a resource speaker in a forum concerning good governance.
During the event, Fernando shared his experiences as a mayor of Marikina City, which he had converted into one of the country’s cleanest and progressive cities. The MMDA has been actively involving the student sector in its continuing effort to clean up and beautify Metro Manila.

In Manila, the MMDA has embarked on a grand endeavor to convert the University Belt Area into a “UniverCity” with the active participation of the students and the school management. The project involves the installation of new streetlights in the U-Belt area, clearing of the roadways and sidewalks of all types of obstructions, and eyesores such as misplaced advertising materials. The clearing and repainting of the sidewalks is aimed at providing the students with clean and safer passageways while going to and from their respective schools.(back to top)

M A N I F E S T O
NG Mga Kawani at PAMUNUAN NG MMDA
NAGKAKAISANG PAHAYAG LABAN SA SINDIKATO
SA BANGKETA

KAMING mga kawani at bumubuo ng pamunuan ng Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) ay mariing kinokondena ang tangkang pamamaslang sa aming kapwa tagapaglingkod na si Director Roberto “Bobby” Esquivel.

BILANG tagapaglingkod ng bayan, hindi katanggap-tanggap na dahas pa ang isusukli sa amin kapalit ng taos-puso naming paglilingkod at pagganap sa aming sinumpaang tungkulin.

ANG PANANAMBANG kay Ginoong Esquivel na naging dahilan pa ng kamatayan ng isa pa naming kapwa tagapaglingkod at malubhang pagkasugat ng isang inosenteng mamamayan ay gawain ng mga taong walang paniniwala sa Diyos at paggalang sa karapatang-pantao.

HINDI katanggap-tanggap na ang mga nasa likod ng tangkang pamaslang kay Ginoong Esquivel ay nagmula sa grupong makakaliwa. Alam nila na ang paglilingkod naming ay walang panlalamang.

ANG MGA nagnanais na gantihan ang ahensya sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng dahas ay ang mga sindikatong nagbabayad ng “hired killers.” Sila ang nakikinabang sa bangketa at kumikita ng malaking salapi, salapi na kanilang walang-awang kinukuha sa mga vendors.

ANIM NANG kawani ng MMDA ang nagbuwis ng buhay, marami na ang nasugatan, sa aming walang-tigil na pagsasaayos ng ating mga lansangan at bangketa. Sila ang mga tunay na bayani na nag-alay ng buhay para sa nakararami.

LAHAT ng mga programa naming pinapatupad sa kalakhang Maynila ay naaayon sa batas, na siyang aming haligi at gabay sa aming paglilingkod sa bayan. Hindi namin maaaring isakripisyo ang kapakanan ng nakakarami sa iilan lamang.

KAMING mga namumuno sa MMDA ay walang ibang inisip kundi ang kalagayan ng mga mahihirap nating kababayan. Sino ba ang nasa lansangan at gumagamit ng bangketa? Hindi ba ang mahihirap? Ang mga mayayaman ay hindi naglalakad, may sasakyan sila papunta at pauwi ng opisina, paaralan, at iba pa nilang destinasyon.

TAYO AY NASA isang demokrasyang bansa na nagbibigay halaga sa karapatan ng bawat isa, mayaman man o mahirap. Kami ay handang makinig at tumugon sa lahat ng reklamo ng ating mga mamamayan.

SA KABILA ng patuloy na pagbanta sa aming kaligtasan, kami sa MMDA ay kailanman ay hindi titigil sa aming tungkulin na paglingkuran ang mamamayang Pilipino.

KAMING MGA bumubuo ng pamunuan ng MMDA ay nagkakaisa sa pagsuporta sa mga programang pinapatupad ng aming butihing Chairman Bayani Fernando.

KAUGNAY NITO, kami ay nananawagan sa Philippine National Police (PNP) na panagutin sa batas ang sinumang nasa likod ng pananambang at mabigyan ng hustisya hindi lamang ang pamilya ni Ginoong Esquivel at ng nasawing si Ginoong Johnny Agbay, kundi pati na rin ang mga vendors na patuloy na inaagawan ng hanapbuhay ng mga sindikatong nagpapatakbo ng “protection racket” sa mga bangketa.

KAMI ay umaapela rin sa PNP at mga kaukulang ahensya na imbestigaan, busisiin, at lansagin ang operasyon ng mga sindikatong ito upang ating mapangalagaan at mabigyan ng proteksyon ang mga vendors at ang publiko.

Maraming Salamat sa inyong pagtitiwala.(back to top)

February 6, 2009

Isabela's Lakas-CMD Declares Support to Chairman Fernando as Official Standard Bearer in 2010

(Roxas, Isabela) - Leaders of the Lakas-Christian-Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) have declared their support to Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando’s endorsement as the party’s official standard-bearer in the 2010 presidential elections.
In endorsing Fernando, Lakas-CMD stalwarts Presidential Cabinet Secretary Silvestro Bello III and Isabela District 1 Rep. Edwin Uy cited the MMDA chief’s strong political will and good governance.
The party’s statement of support to Fernando’s selection as the Lakas-CMD standard-bearer is expected to create a bandwagon effect in the solid North, which Fernando has visited early this week.
Bello and Uy made their endorsement during the oath-taking and swearing-in of the new officers and members of the Lakas-CMD at the Roxas Stadium in Isabela.
The event, which coincided with the birthday of Congressman Uy, was attended by some 2,000 guests including House Speaker Prospero Nograles and Isabela Governor Grace Padaca.
Padaca expressed her high respect to Fernando, whom she said exemplifies “good governance”.
Nograles, for his part, praised Fernando for coming prepared, noting that Fernando came equipped with instant photographs of people he encounter during his provincial sorties.
The Roxas sortie was part of Fernando’s visit to the Ilocos and Isabela provinces.
Earlier, Fernando was the guest at the “Pamulinawen” festival in Laoag City at the invitation of Mayor Michael Farinas, and at the founding anniversary of Laoag City , which was led by Ilocos Norte Gov. Michael Marcos-Keon.
Fernando also visited the town of Solsona , where he was the guest of Mayor Joseph de Lara at the crowning of the 2nd Solona Gameng Contest.
He was also the guest of Sarrat mayor Edito Balentona where he shared with the town officials his governance methods. (back to top)

February 5, 2009

MMDA Condemns Attack on SCOG Chief's Son and Driver

Officials of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) strongly condemned yesterday the attack on the son and the driver of Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group (SCOG) chief Roberto “Bobby” Esquivel as they threw their all-out support to the agency’s relentless campaign to clear Metro Manila’s sidewalks and roadways.
In a manifesto, the MMDA director, department heads, and middle managers described the incident as “repulsive” and “totally out of place in a civilized society.”
“Violence has no place in a society that is founded by respect to human rights, fear of God, and rule of law. We deplore, in the strongest possible terms, this cowardly act and we are hoping that the perpetrators will be put behind bars,” the MMDA officials said.
“As despicable and atrocious this violent attack on innocent human lives can be, we will never be cowed into doing our jobs and fulfilling our mandate under the able leadership and guidance of Chairman Bayani Fernando,” the manifesto further stated.
Legal Service chief Emmanuel De Castro said the programs the agency have been implementing are in accordance with the law so those who wish to oppose it should be bringing their grievances in the courts.
“Shooting innocent people will never be the right response. We are only doing our responsibilities based on our mandate, so it is only proper that those who have questions on our policies should seek redress in the courts,” Castro said.
He pointed out that the attack on Esquivel’s son and driver “will only embolden the people to think that we are doing is against the law.”
“We enforce our policies within the legal parameters. If they say that we are committing human rights violations, then they should be filing a case before the proper courts,” Castro stressed.
While recent police investigation initially point out to the supposed involvement of a pseudo urban hit squad, recent developments point out that the attempt on Esquivel’s life might be the handiwork of syndicates maintaining protection racket on sidewalks, the MMDA manifesto stated.
In the same manifesto and statement of support, the MMDA directors and managers pointed out that the agency’s intensified sidewalk clearing operations had been hurting these syndicates, who earn hundreds of thousands of pesos a week from the protection fees they have been demanding from the vendors.
“This is not really about the vendors being aggrieved, but about these syndicates maintaining illegal protection activities on the sidewalks,” the MMDA officials stated.
Records showed that eight MMDA personnel have been killed and many more have suffered injuries during the agency’s sidewalk clearing operations. (back to top)

February 02, 2009

Chairman Fernando to Police Authorities: Speed up Manhunt Against Suspects in the Laguna Ambush

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando appealed to police authorities yesterday to speed up the manhunt against the gunmen who ambushed the 14-year-old son and the driver of Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group (SCOG) chief Roberto “Bobby” Esquivel.
Fernando said the perpetrators of the grisly crime should be brought to justice as soon as possible so as to remind the lawless elements that the government will not just sit back and let them bring chaos and disorder in the country.
“We deplore in the strongest terms this abominable act and we’re hoping our police will be able to identify and arrest whoever did this abhorrent and despicable crime,” Fernando said.
Speaking from Vigan, Ilocos Sur where he was invited by the local government units as guest speaker in their various restoring order in the streets and cleanliness campaigns, Fernando said he was saddened by the incident, especially for Esquivel’s son, Mico, who is now being treated at the Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City.
The MMDA chief also conveyed his condolences to the family of Johnny Agbay, the driver of Esquivel, who was killed in the early morning ambush in San Pedro, Laguna, as he promised to extend the necessary assistance the agency could extend to those he has left behind.

Asked if the incident could be related to Esquivel’s work as head of the agency’s sidewalk clearing operations, Fernando said it is too early to connect it to anything while police are still investigating the case.
“For the moment, let’s just let the police investigate the incident. We cannot preempt the ongoing investigation,” he pointed out, adding that it would be premature to speculate on anything.
MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno, for his part, also asked the public not to unnecessarily link the incident to the agency’s sidewalk clearing operations.
“We will wait for the official findings of the police. For now, we cannot make a conclusion yet as to the possible motive behind the incident,” Nacianceno said. (back to top)

January 28, 2009

Chairman Fernando Appeals to Vendors Not to Further Congest Sidewalks and Roadways

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando appealed to vendors yesterday not to further congest the sidewalks and roadways so as not to hamper the free flow of traffic.
Fernando said there are enough spaces in public and private markets throughout Metro Manila that vendors could avail of instead of plying their wares in the sidewalks.
“We are asking the vendors to stay inside the markets where we could protect them, unlike in the sidewalks where they are more vulnerable to corrupt authorities that demand grease money from them,” Fernando said.
The MMDA chief made the statement yesterday amid reports that illegal vendors have once again proliferated along major roads in Metro Manila, particularly along Commonwealth Avenue and Baclaran area, due to the apparent reluctance of the concerned LGUs to conduct sustained sidewalk clearing operations.
In response to criticisms on his supposedly iron-hand policies against the sidewalk vendors, Fernando pointed out that the MMDA conducts its sidewalk clearing operations not to persecute the poor vendors, but to help them and the public as well.
“In our clearing operations, who benefits most? It’s the poor people who go the market. Malaki ang dayaan sa bangketa. Dito malaki ang nawawala sa ating mamimili, ang mahihirap,” he said.
When he was the mayor of Marikina City , Fernando admitted that the vendors were angry at him for removing them from the sidewalks and placing them inside the markets.
One such vendor is now the owner of Commonwealth public market in Quezon City , he said.
Fernando reiterated that the MMDA’s sidewalk clearing campaign does not violate any law because it is sanctioned by MMDA Resolution No. 02-28 approved and signed by the 17 Metro Manila mayors in 2002.
He explained that their method of confiscating the goods of the illegal vendors is provided for under the subject MMDA ordinance.
“We confiscate the items and destroy it right in front of the vendors so there will be no allegations that we benefit from it. All items, goods and structures found on or along roads, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks and other public places shall be confiscated by the government without prior notice, and shall be treated as common garbage,” Fernando explained, citing a provision in the MMDA ordinance.
Back in the ’60’s in Manila during the term of Mayor Arsenio Lacson, the sidewalk vendors experienced harsher penalties because they were being arrested and charged in court, and their goods seized, unlike with the MMDA that only their goods are confiscated, he added.
“Ang awa ba natin ay nakakatulong sa mahirap?” Fernando asked in response to the criticisms against his policies. (back to top)

January 27, 2009

Chairman Fernando Gains a Notch in the Latest Election Survey

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando has scored a marked improvement in the race for presidential elections, gaining one more notch in the latest election survey conducted by an independent political think-tank.

Based on the latest nationwide survey done by The Issues and Advocacy Center (The Center), Fernando got six percent, tying him in the 7th to 8th places with another presidential aspirant, Senator Manuel Roxas.

The Makati-based The Center, a member of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), initiated the January 6-9 Pulso ng Pilipino Yearend Survey, the second since October.
The survey was conducted on 1,200 respondents proportionally chosen from every region nationwide to approximate the number of registered voters in the 2007 mid-term elections.
Of the 1,200 respondents who are aged between 18 to above 56, 65 percent were males, 35 percent were females, most of whom, comprising 38 percent, come from the lowest “E” socio-economic class.

The survey has a margin of error of 3.5 to 4 percent and a confidence level in excess of 95 percent. Methods used were person-to-person interviews.

Based on the survey results, Fernando scored six percent, a notch higher from the previous five percent he got in Pulso’s first survey in October 2008. Roxas, who tied with Fernando in the 7-8th places, dropped two points, from his previous 8 percent to 6. Fernando came right behind Senator Panfilo Lacson who has 8 percent.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), Fernando got a rating of two percent, beating Roxas by a point, who has one percent. Following Roxas in the ninth place is Senator Richard Gordon, who scored four percent from his previous two percent.

The survey attributed Fernando’s and Gordon’s increasing positive ratings for their “no non-sense” style of governance. Both were credited for having transformed their respective cities Marikina and Olongapo into a model community.

The improvement in Fernando’s rating stems from the frequency of his provincial sorties for most of the past year, and his emerging as the grand finals champion in the 2008 Celebrity Duets competition, according to The Center.

In another development, the MMDA chief placed second in the Short Messaging Service (SMS) survey conducted by the E-Communicate Text Broadcast (ECTB) nationwide on six different dates this month, from January 6 to January 21, 200, as to who Filipino texters would want to lead the country in 2010.

Results of the ECTB random survey on 460,000 respondents showed Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero leading the digi-research by 9.20% or 389 text votes; followed by Fernando with 8.09% or 342 votes, third is Sen. Manuel Villar at 7.05% or 298 votes; Sen. Mar Roxas came in fourth at 5.75% or 243 text votes while Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson landed the 5th place at 5.39% or 228 votes.

Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada tailed behind the first five presidentiables landing at 6th place or3.88% for a total of 164 text votes; followed by Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay at 2.89% or 122 votes; Vice President Noli de Castro came ion at 8th with 2.18% or 923 votes; and Sen. Loren Legarda was the tail-ender garnering 1.87% or 79 votes. (back to top)

January 27, 2009

Gwapotels in Every City and Municipality Eyed By Chairman Fernando

With the success of the first two workers inn or Gwapotel the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is eyeing the construction of additional facilities this year.

More Gwapotel are in the pipeline. We want to put up a Gwapotel in every city and municipality in Metro Manila, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said.

We are now expediting the planning for the construction of additional facilities similar to Gwapotel in at least three other cities in the metropolis, said Fernando adding that one would be put up in Quezon City .
Fernando said the continued rise in the occupancy rate at the workers inn since they were put up by the agency two years ago lead them to plans for similar facilities in other parts of Metro Manila.
The official said that the MMDA is coordinating with local government units regarding the plan adding that majority are receptive to the idea.

At present, the MMDA operates two Gwapotel bed and bath facility located at the former National Power Corporation building on Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila and at Jose Abad Santos in Tondo.
Fernando said the occupancy rate at lodging inn was such that the Gwapotel management was forced to turned away on several occasion a number of prospective guests wanting to avail of a 10-hour stay in the place for a mere 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 of the time, he said.

The Gwapotel amenities include a bunk bed that comes with a pillow and leatherette matting, but an extra mattress can be had for P25.

To take a bath, guests use coin-operated showers, where they deposit P5 for approximately eight minutes of water flow. After eight minutes, the shower automatically stops.
The second Gwapotel features capsular beds fully equipped with piped-in airconditioning and other modern electrical requirements.

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.
Each floor has a TV set, electric fans for ventilation, security cameras, and beds for up to 200 guests. As many as six guards are on duty at any given time.

The MMDA 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 the bed and bath facilities.

Other guests who regularly patronize the facility 1 include employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) nearby, taxi drivers, salesmen, students from the provinces on field trips around the capital, seminar participants, bootblacks and ice cream vendors.

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.(back to top)

January 24, 2009

MMDA Revives No-Contact Traffic Apprehension Policy

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced yesterday the revival of the No-Contact Traffic Apprehension Policy (NCTAP) which was introduced three years ago but was declared void by the court.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the Metro Manila Council (MMC), the policy-making body of the MMDA, has approved the NCTAP resolution in support of the program using closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras placed in strategic areas on Edsa and other major thoroughfares.
Under the just-approved resolution, the program will be implemented during a trial period of three month

The NCTA is a scheme where traffic enforcers will take pictures of vehicles committing a traffic violation. The MMDA will just send a summons to the operator and driver of the vehicle that was caught on video or camera committing a traffic violation.
The traffic violator, however, has the right to protest the violation citation within seven days after receipt of the first notice.

Fernando maintained that the scheme eliminates the time consuming process of physically apprehending the erring motorist and issuing the traffic ticket.
The official noted that the NCTA prevents endless arguments and direct bribery between the offender and the traffic enforcer.

While waiting for the MMC resolution, Fernando said they have been implementing non-contact traffic schemes though without the use of cameras as originally called for in the scheme.
“Actually, we are doing non-contact traffic apprehension right now like when apprehending illegally parked vehicles. Iniipit na lang ng ating traffic enforcers sa windshield ang violation ticket,” Fernando said.

He said that the scheme limit the chances of mulcting. De Dios said the traffic surveillance cameras situated along strategic points at Epifianio De Los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and other thoroughfares in Metro Manila could be linked to the said traffic scheme though he added that the former is more of a traffic monitoring and management tool.
The MMDA is set to install a total of 400 traffic surveillance cameras along EDSA and other thoroughfares in the metropolis.

Of the number, 51 will be installed before the end of the month.
“These surveillance cameras will greatly enhance our traffic management and monitoring capabilities and determine traffic build-ups, especially in major thoroughfares where there is a large volume of vehicle day in and day out,” Fernando said.

Likewise, the official said the surveillance cameras would also help determine the needed number of passenger buses to be deployed on EDSA and other major roads as part of the enhanced Organized Bus Route (OBR) program.

The OBR involves the installation of “micro-chips” or Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) and readers on buses and designated points in the terminals and thoroughfares for easy tracking of the movement of buses along Edsa.

Under the OBR, bus terminal and loading bays are equipped with tracking device and cameras that will monitor every bus operating in Metro Manila.

Authorities said about 3, 000 passenger buses ply EDSA, Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare, on a daily basis. They accumulate about 32, 000 daily trips.

The agency has already installed more than a dozen Wi-Max cameras in vantage points along EDSA, C-5, Buendia and Guadalupe and other roadways last year.

The surveillance cameras are linked to the MMDA's communications and control center at its main office in Guadalupe, Makati where its personnel monitor the entire traffic situation on EDSA and other major thoroughfares on a 24-hour basis.

Dubbed the “Road Safety Surveillance System and Wireless Communications Backbone”, the cameras will be installed on key intersection of EDSA, Macapagal Boulevard, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay Road, Ayala Avenue, Ortigas Avenue, Santolan Road, Aurora Boulevard, Timog and East Avenue, Quezon and North Avenue, Roosevelt and Congressional Avenue, Balintawak, Rizal Avenue, Elliptical Road, Philcoa and Kalayaan and Visayas Avenues.(back to top)

January 14, 2009

MMDA Intensifies Clean-up And Beautification of the University Belt Area This Year

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will further intensify this year the cleanup and beautification of the University Belt area in Manila.

MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando said he wants the area to be transformed into a "University" in the coming months. "This is beneficial to the students, magkakaroon sila ng feeling of belonging sa lugar. When they go to their provinces, they will have something to be proud of to their parents and friends. Better perspective, better environment," Fernando said.

The U-Belt area is the unofficial name of a de facto sub-district in Manila, where there is a high concentration of colleges and universities. Aside from the San Miguel district, it also includes the southern end of Espana, Morayta Street, the eastern end of CM Recto, Legarda Avenue, and Mendiola Street. There are 19 major universities and colleges located in Sampaloc, Quiapo, Sta. Cruz, and San Miguel areas.

Fernando said the continuing beautification project now involves the active participation of school officials and students. "Ultimong mga bubble gum na nakadikit sa daan, poste, at pader ay aming inaalis," the MMDA chief said. Only last week, Fernando met with the administrators of the Arellano University in Legarda where they identified the problem of illegal vendors and informal settlers in the area.

MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno said they have completed the installation of new streetlights in the University while they continue clearing the roadways and sidewalks of all types of obstructions, particularly vendors, and eyesores such as misplaced advertising materials. The clearing and repainting of the sidewalks is aimed at providing the students with a clean and safer passageways while going to and from their respective schools.

"The students now understand the need to have orderliness and cleanliness within the UniverCity," Nacianceno said, adding that the schools are now showing a more positive response to the MMDA's relentless efforts to spruce up the area. The MMDA is also planning to provide wifi services to students at the city's U-Belt area. (back to top)

January 13, 2009

MMDA Rescues Aeta Tribesmen As Part of Its Post-Christmas Anti-Street Dweller Campaign

More than 200 Aeta tribesmen who went to Manila to beg alms have been rescued by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in Caloocan City as part of the agency's post-Christmas anti-street dwellers campaign.

The Aetas, numbering 241 and most of whom were children, were sent back to Capas, Tarlac by six-by-six trucks provided by the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Region 3 and the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Amante Salvador, acting director of the MMDA-Street Dwellers Care Unit, said a tip-off led them to the rented apartment of Ester Gamilde at 130 Banal Street, 6th Avenue in Caloocan, where the tribesmen had sought shelter while begging alms in the streets during the Christmas season.

The tribesmen,when interviewed, said they went to Manila on their own money and contacted Gamilde's helpers, who were also Aetas. Gamilde, who runs an eatery in front of her apartment, told the inter-agency team that she gave the Aetas temporary shelter out of goodwill because an Aeta had helped her recover from a serious illness a few years ago. She denied asking anything in return from the tribesmen, who would buy food from her eatery from their daily earnings in the streets. The Aetas slept in a huge hallway of Gamilde's apartment. Salvador said none of the Aetas showed signs of abuse or reported being maltreated. Nevertheless, he said they are looking into Gamilde's possible criminal liability.

"We asked them if they were properly treated and they told us they were alright, and that they went to Manila using their own money," he said,adding that they immediately coordinated with the DSWD-Region 3 to bring back the Aetas to their hometowns.

In separate operations, the Street Dweller Care Unit had rounded up 26 Badjaos along Roxas Boulevard and turned them over to the welfare facility at Fabella Center in Mandaluyong City.
Salvador said from December 24 to 31 alone, they had rounded up 76 Badjaos and coordinated their return to their provinces. The Street Dweller Care Unit is the MMDA's specialized department tasked to round up mendicants and homeless persons in Metro Manila's streets and turn them over to appropriate agencies, such as the DSWD, that would provide them proper care. (back to top)

January 12, 2009

Chairman BF Recognized by Caritas Manila For Implementation of Strong Policies

The importance of leadership was given premium by a ranking leader of Caritas Manila yesterday as he recognized the efforts and strong policies being implemented by Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

Monsignor Anton Pascual, executive director of Caritas Manila, said discipline is what the people needed so the country will have progress and peace. He told Fernando, in a simple ceremony yesterday to extend the gratefulness of Caritas Manila for the P200,000 donation he gave, that the discipline being espoused by the MMDA chief is really needed by the people.

In a huddle before the ceremony Father Anton said the Filipino's are prone to use the three L's (Lusot, Lakas and Lagay) in their daily lives just to be able to round around the policies they have violated. He said that these three things were being discussed by him during his homilies so the parishioners will learn its implication and effect to themselves and to the others.
"Itinuturo rins a Biblia ang disiplina kasi kung walang disiplina walang mangyayari at pabor ako sa ginagawa ni Chairman Fernando na disiplinahin ang mga tao sa Metro Manila because it is what we need and the Church is also giving emphasis to this particularly the youth," Father Anton said.

Fernando for his part said giving more emphasis to discipline is really his advocacy because without it there will be chaos. "Talagang gusto nating disiplinahin ang mga motorists pati na ang mga commuters kaya natin nilagyan ng mga road furniture’s ang Metro Manila," Fernando said.
He said the different loading and unloading bays were built specifically discipline drivers and the commuters. "Ang problema rin talaga ay ang mga mananakay kasi ang bus dun hihinto kung nasaan ang pasahero at kalimitan ang pasahero wala sa puesto kaya nilagyan natin ng bakod," Fernando said.

The MMDA has also built a number of pedestrian footbridge to free-up the flow of traffic in many intersections in Metro Manila and it is being complemented by the numerous U-turn slots in the major thoroughfares. A P300 million worth elevated U-Turn slot was also built along C. P. Garcia Avenue (C-5) in Makati City and the second one is now under construction.

Fernando told the Caritas Manila officials and scholars that he really chose their organization to have the share of his winnings in the Celebrity Duets because of the expertise of the group and he really wanted to give it to the needy people. The Catholic organization according to Father Anton Pascual has a total of 7,000 scholars in the elementary, high school and college.

He said the scholarship and other charity works of their organization started since 1953 and through the help of people like Fernando they managed to continue helping the poor in whatever way they can. (back to top)

January 09, 2009

MMDA Set To Install Around 400 Traffic Surveillance Cameras Along EDSA And Other Strategic Points in Metro Manila

With an eye towards better traffic management the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is set to install a total of 400 traffic surveillance cameras in strategic points along the 24-kilometer long Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and other thoroughfares in the metropolis.

Of the number, 51 will be installed before the end of the month, MMDA Traffic Operation Center Executive Director Angelito Vergel De Dios said. “These surveillance cameras will greatly enhance our traffic management and monitoring capabilities and determine traffic build-ups, especially in major thoroughfares where there is a large volume of vehicle day in and day out,” De Dios said.
“Through these traffic surveillance cameras, we will be able to monitor on a 24-hour basis the traffic conditions along major roadways and report on any accidents so that we can immediately deploy our personnel and emergency vehicles,” Fernando said.

Likewise, the official said the surveillance cameras would also help determine the needed number of passenger buses to be deployed on EDSA and other major roads as part of the enhanced Organized Bus Route (OBR) program. “The installation of these traffic cameras is part of our effort to fine-tune the details of the OBR before its full implementation,” the MMDA traffic czar said.

The OBR involves the installation of “micro-chips” or Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) and readers on buses and designated points in the terminals and thoroughfares for easy tracking of the movement of buses along Edsa. Under the OBR, bus terminal and loading bays are equipped with tracking device and cameras that will monitor every bus operating in Metro Manila.
Authorities said about 3, 000 passenger buses ply EDSA, Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare, on a daily basis. They accumulate about 32, 000 daily trips.

Aside from traffic monitoring, the cameras according to De Dios will also be use to monitor the water level at the 15 major and minor pumping stations operated by the agency especially during the rainy season to enable authorities to react to any case of flash flooding.

Another function would be as an anti-crime tool adding that authorities can utilize images captured by the equipment of crimes committed in the streets. He said that images taken by the agency’s cameras can be shared with the Philippine National Police (PNP) which has it own surveillance cameras in place in the metropolis to deter crime.

De Dios cited an incident last year wherein three thieves were apprehended by the police in Manila after MMDA cameras recorded them taking wire cables. The agency has already installed more than a dozen Wi-Max cameras in vantage points along EDSA, C-5, Buendia and Guadalupe and other roadways last year.

The surveillance cameras are linked to the MMDA's communications and control center at its main office in Guadalupe, Makati where its personnel monitor the entire traffic situation on EDSA and other major thoroughfares on a 24-hour basis. Dubbed the “Road Safety Surveillance System and Wireless Communications Backbone”, the cameras will be installed on key intersection of EDSA, Macapagal Boulevard, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay Road, Ayala Avenue, Ortigas Avenue, Santolan Road, Aurora Boulevard, Timog and East Avenue, Quezon and North Avenue, Roosevelt and Congressional Avenue, Balintawak, Rizal Avenue, Elliptical Road, Philcoa and Kalayaan and Visayas Avenues.

The traffic cameras will be complemented by the installation of television monitors along strategic points of major thoroughfares and other public places which can be easily seen by passing motorists and commuters. The TV monitors would also reports traffic updates gathered by the agency’s 24-hour Traffic Operations Center and the MMDA Traffic Radio.

According to MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, the program is part of the agency’s plan to develop alternative means of delivering traffic news especially during rush hours when motorists and commuters have no other reliable means of getting the updates. (back to top)

January 07, 2009

MMDA Scouts for Additional Satellite Impounding Sites as Part of its Crackdown Vs. Erring Motorists

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is looking for additional sites in the metropolis for its satellite impounding areas as it vows an intensified crackdown against erring motorists.

MMDA Traffic Operation Center Executive Director Angelito Vergel De Dios said the provision of the satellite impounding areas is one of the main thrust of the agency this year.

“We are hoping to cite a satellite impounding area in every city and municipality in Metro Manila within the year” De Dios said adding that they are looking at the set-up similar to private parking areas in the metropolis where motorists paid a rent or on a daily basis.

At present, the MMDA operates three impounding centers, Ultra 1 in Pasig City and Las Pinas (for administrative traffic violations such as colorum, out-of-line and no franchise) and Ultra 2 for stalled vehicles.

Stalled vehicles are classified as any motor vehicle which for any cause is unable to proceed under its own motive power and is on a public road, street or thoroughfare.

Towing firms accredited by the MMDA charged P800 for light vehicles and P1, 500 for heavy vehicles plus the penalties imposed for the traffic violations committed.

For stalled vehicles, the fine is P200 while for illegal parking, the penalty is P500.

De Dios said that the additional impounding sites would also help save time for motorists as the current set-up where the vehicle of the erring motorists has to be brought to Pasig or Las Piñas for safekeeping is too time-consuming.

“This is not only due to the large number of vehicles being towed but more so to save time. Sa ngayon kasi kailangan po nating dalhin sa Ultra o sa Las Pinas ang mga nahihilang sasakyan kahit na ang paglabag sa batas trapiko ay nangyari sa ibang lugar sa Kamaynilaan,” De Dios added.

The official likewise clarified that the MMDA will not spend any centavo for the project as the rent of the site will be shouldered by the towing company who in turn will get the amount from the towing fee. (back to top)

January 06, 2009

MMDA Finishes Grand Development of Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City

Travelling along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City will be much faster and safer by next year as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) finishes the grand development of the highway's eight-kilometer span.
MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando said construction and repair works at Commonwealth Avenue is more than 50 percent complete, well in time for its projected completion in 2010.
"Motorists and commuters using Commonwealth Avenue will experience faster travel on a well-paved road with more than enough footbridges for pedestrians, loading stations for commuters, and even a bicycle lane," Fernando said, likening the redeveloped highway to the US' interstate highway system.
The redevelopment of the eight-kilometer portion of Commonwealth Avenue, from Quezon Memorial Circle to Dona Carmen, started three years ago, with the aim of reclaiming and utilizing the thoroughfare's original 95-meter wide road-right-of-way.
Engr. Ramon Ona, director of the MMDA-Traffic Engineering Center, said they had to remove the squatter shanties, business establishments, and other private properties that had illegally encroached for years on the road lot to create enough lanes for vehicular traffic.

Part of the agency's Metro Gwapo project, the development of Commonwealth Avenue includes the construction of footbridges and loading bays for public utility vehicles (PUVs) in every 500 meters of the highway.
So far, the MMDA has built five of the original plan of 17 pedestrian footbridges, which will be complimented by unconventional U-turn slots to ease vehicle conflict on junctions, considering that Commonwealth Avenue has four full intersections and eight "T" intersections.
Ona said that apart from ensuring that both directions of the highway has seven lanes - two for PUVs and five for private vehicles - they will also build a bike lane at the outermost portion of the sidewalk and a pedestrian walkway, which will be separated by a planting strip for ornamental plants.
Parking and emergency areas will also be designated on strategic portions of Commonwealth Avenue, according to Ona.
Ona added that drainage improvement is also one of the features of the Commonwealth Avenue project.
"When we have completed all these improvements, travel speed along Commonwealth will be an average of 80 kilometers-per-hour from the previous 50 kph. By improving travel speed, we can save at least P53 billion a year in fuel and personal savings and health risks from road accidents," Ona said.
Formerly called Don Mariano Marcos Avenue, the 12.4-kilometer Commonwealth Avenue is regarded as the country's widest thoroughfare, which spans from ten to 18 lanes.
An average of 220,000 vehicles pass through Commonwealth Avenue daily, 11,000 of which during peak hours.
Commonwealth Avenue starts from the Quezon Memorial Circle inside the Elliptical Road, passes through the areas of Philcoa, Tandang Sora, Balara, Batasan Hills and ends at Mindanao Avenue in the Fairview area. (back to top)